Homecoming
by Random1377
Summary: After a long time away, it's good to come home. Complete.
1. Homecoming

Disclaimer: Evangelion is a Studio Gainax production, meaning I do not own the rights to it. I am using their characters without their permission, and will gladly destroy all traces of the story if they ask.

Homecoming

By Random1377

Deep under the ocean, two teenagers fought for their very lives, struggling with all their might to force the Evangelion Unit they were trapped in to respond to their mental command of open, open, open. The angel holding them firmly in its jaws seemed unkillable, fighting the pull of the aircraft carrier, Over the Rainbow's mighty winch as two battleships sank towards it, their intent obvious as their cannons homed in on the angel's mouth.

On the bridge of the aircraft carrier, Misato watched the progress of the battle with mingled hope and tension. It was a good strategy, but she was concerned about its success – largely because Shinji and Asuka could not seem to make Unit 02 obey their commands underwater.

"Time to target?"

One of the bridge officers checked his monitor. "Fifty seconds, ma'am," he replied quietly, "no sign of movement from the EVA."

Misato scrubbed a hand over her face. "Damn," she muttered, going over secondary protocols in her mind. "If we can't stop it here… we may have to scuttle Unit 02."

Shinji's friend Kensuke gaped at her. "S-scuttle?" he stuttered, his camera momentarily forgotten, "like… blow-up?"

Touji, Shinji's other friend, muttered, "No way…!"

"I'm short on options," Misato snapped, "Time to target?"

"Thirty s- movement! I've got movement from Unit 02!"

Everyone waited tensely as the countdown slowly reached zero.

"The ships are in the angel's mouth!" the officer cried out. "Pointblank range – they can't miss."

Misato clenched her hand into a fist. "FIRE!"

Moments later, the Over the Rainbow shook with the force of a large, underwater explosion. All hands braced themselves as a huge plume of water shot out of the ocean, sending droplets flying everywhere as a rather ragged looking Unit 02 arced high up into the air, somehow, miraculously, crashing back down onto the deck of the Over the Rainbow before slumping, powerless, onto its face.

"Well," Misato said briskly, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Everyone on the bridge gave her a baleful glance, but before any rude comments were made, the communications officer said, "Ma'am? The pilot of Unit 02 is requesting immediate, urgent communication."

Yawning, Misato said, "Patch her through. Hey Asuka – great j-"

"Get me out of here!"

Misato blinked, taken aback by the panic in the pilot's voice. "Asuka, calm down," she said with some confusion, "the angel's dead. What's the-"

"Get me out!" Asuka practically shrieked, "Get me out – get me out _RIGHT NOW!_"

"Whoa, whoa!" Misato said, motioning with her hands even though Asuka could not see her, "Easy! What's going on?" With a sudden sense of foreboding, she said, "Where's Shinji…?"

Asuka's reply chilled her to the bone.

"Took him… it took him…" the redhead babbled. "I swear to god if you don't get me out of here I will rip this goddamn ship apart!"

In spite of the anger in the Second Child's voice – or perhaps because of it – Misato found this threat terribly amusing. "I'd like to see that with no power," she said dryly, "now where is Shin-"

"I told you it _took_ him!" Asuka roared. "Open the plug, damn it! Let… me… _out_!"

"What are you talking about?" Misato demanded. "If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny – I'll get you out as soon as we have power restored, or do you want me to eject you into the sea? Now put Shinji on."

There was a long, long silence, broken finally when Asuka whispered, "…I can't, Misato. He's not here anymore."

Misato growled in frustration. "What does that mean? Asuka? _Asuka_?"

"We've reestablished power with Unit 02," the officer next to Misato reported, "wasn't easy by hand, but we got it."

"Give me a pilot lifesign reading," Misato ordered, "hurry."

The officer nodded. "Coming up now… got it – pilot, is a-ok."

Misato frowned. "Pilot?" she echoed, turning to the man. "Were you paying attention to the fight at all? There's two of them in there."

"Umm, my readings show one," the officer said apologetically, "the other must have ejected or some-"

He was cut off as Misato slammed her fist down on the console. "Damn it," she shouted, "Get me someone who knows what he's doing!"

Pushing the startled officer out of the way, Misato began typing on the computer, her eyes scanning the readout as her brow drew down in a confused scowl.

"What the hell?" she muttered, scanning Asuka's bio-signs. "Alive… but unconscious? She fainted? _Asuka_ fainted? And where – the hell – is Shinji…?"

( 0 0 0 )

The remainder of the ride back to Tokyo-3 was tense – especially when Asuka came back around and began clamoring to be let out again. Misato was finally able to calm the pilot down by assuring her that as soon as they reached land, Ritsuko would be waiting with a retrieval crew – and the number one priority would be getting Asuka out of the plug.

In their conversations, Misato tried to gather more information on what had happened… but all she managed to glean was that sometime during the battle, Shinji had simply ceased to be in the plug, leaving nothing but his plugsuit and neural connectors to show that he had ever been there.

She also discovered that the manual eject, for some reason, did not seem to be functioning. Asuka made it very clear that she had tried numerous times to get it to work, but so far, nothing. Asuka also made it very clear exactly what she thought of the ejection system, Shinji's disappearance, Misato's status as a female dog, and the lineage of the entire crew of the Over the Rainbow, who – according to her – were all born to unwed mothers.

_At least she's got her spirit back,_ Misato thought as the aircraft carrier nosed up to the dock. _She had me worried for a while there._

Misato was still worried, of course, but she was trying to keep her game face on.

People don't just vanish, she told herself as she made her way down the gangplank to meet Ritsuko. There had to be a reasonable explanation for where Shinji was. Perhaps he had gotten knocked unconscious and wedge behind the pilot's seat, where Asuka could not see. Maybe he opened the plug hatch and was trapped in the EVA's chest cavity. Hell, maybe he opened the hatch and got jettisoned into the ocean, Misato didn't know.

…never mind the fact that each of these scenarios would render the hapless Third Child irrevocably dead, there had to be an explanation.

"So," she said with forced lightness, "give me good news."

Looking her squarely in the eyes, Ritsuko deadpanned, "We're screwed."

Misato tripped and tumbled the rest of the way down the gangplank, ending up in a jumbled heap at Ritsuko's feet. "Ow," she groaned, rubbing her bruised backside as she got to her feet, "don't sugarcoat it, doc, give it to me straight."

"This isn't a time for levity," Ritsuko said sharply, "look at this."

Glancing at the paper the blonde shoved at her, Misato said, "It's the synchronization report I sent you right after the fight. What about it?"

Ritsuko ground her teeth. "Notice anything… unusual about it?"

Misato shrugged. "There's a ghost signature over the top of Asuka's ratio," she said dismissively, "static in the system – from Shinji's presence, right?"

"No," Ritsuko corrected, "what you're seeing is _Shinji's_ sync ratio."

Pursing her lips, Misato replied, "Impossible – it's off the scale."

Ritsuko shook her head, surveying the paper herself with a slightly awed expression. "It's happened before," she whispered, "with Unit 01's first pilot. This isn't the first time we've seen this, Misato."

Misato paled considerably. "Didn't… that pilot die?"

"Boy that's a complicated question," Ritsuko muttered. "Umm… I can't really answer that, Misato – it would take me all day. Let me get to Unit 02. There's still a chance that Shinji is… salvageable."

Flinching, Misato stepped out of the way, but as Ritsuko stepped past, she grabbed her arm.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"…don't say salvageable."

Ritsuko opened her mouth to say that this was the most appropriate word, but one look at the harsh gleam in Misato's eyes silenced her.

"Alright."

Without another word, she continued on her way, deciding that it was definitely the right decision to keep Misato from knowing the results of the attempt to salvage Unit 01's pilot.

It would just piss her off.

( 0 0 0 )

"What is taking so _long?_"

Asuka fidgeted with Unit 02's right control yoke, trying to avoid looking at the empty plugsuit floating behind her in the LCL. It had been hours since the battle, and she was still trapped in the plug.

She was going crazy.

"Why can't you just let me out?" she demanded, frustrated that the stupid retrieval crew had insisted on moving Unit 02 all the way back to headquarters. "This thing's not gonna eat _me_," she muttered to herself, giving a suspicious glance around the all-too-empty plug. "No way!"

"Relax, Asuka," a woman's voice replied, "this may take a little while."

"Why?" Asuka wanted to know immediately. "Just open the hatch – it's not that hard!"

The voice, sounding smooth and unhurried, said, "There are some… complications, I'm afraid. I need to ask you a few questions. Oh, and my name is Doctor Akagi, by the way… head of Project-E."

Asuka rubbed her eyes. "Pleased to meet you," she lied, "can we please, _please_ hurry this up?"

"Of course. Now, when Shinji… disappeared, what were you two doing?"

"Fighting the angel, of course – I already told Misato all of this!"

"Yes," Doctor Akagi said with strained patience, "I know you were fighting the angel – but what, specifically, were you doing?"

Asuka thought back to the battle, reluctantly putting herself back into the fight. "We… couldn't get the mouth open," she said slowly. "Unit 02 wasn't responding, so we had to concentrate on that – just open, open, open… that's all I was thinking about until Unit 02 moved."

"And Shinji was doing the same?"

"Yeah, I guess," Asuka said uncertainly, "I mean, we both knew we had to get the mouth to open so we could get the battleships to the angel's core… and it finally worked, so he would have had to have been thinking the same thing as me…"

"Uh huh," Doctor Akagi said thoughtfully, "and did you… feel anything?"

Asuka licked her lips, glancing briefly at Shinji's empty plugsuit. "Well," she said hesitantly, "when the angel's mouth finally did open, I… I _thought_ I felt something…"

"Yes?"

"…I thought I felt a butterfly."

There was a brief silence. "I'm sorry?" Doctor Akagi said, clearly confused. "A what?"

"A butterfly," Asuka repeated, feeling very foolish, "it… it felt like a butterfly brushed my cheek with its wing, ok? I know it's stupid, but you asked if I felt anything – God, why can't you just open the hatch and let me out? We have power now, you can just-"

"Asuka," Doctor Akagi cut in quietly, "look around you… is there anything that looks… thicker than LCL? Or heavier? Or maybe a different color?"

Not understanding where this was going, Asuka cast around. "Umm… there's a little… huh, I didn't see that before, but yeah, there's a little… cloud of darker LCL – right under Shinji's plugsuit. What _is _that?"

"Have you breathed any of it?"

"Huh?"

The question was so sharp that Asuka immediately shrank back from the darker cloud.

"Did you breathe any of that material?"

"Umm… no – should-"

"No!" Doctor Akagi cut in quickly. "No, don't breathe it, don't touch it, don't go near it if you can avoid it, do you understand?"

"Is it… poisonous?" Asuka asked, eyeing the cloud nervously.

"Well, not as such," Doctor Akagi said smoothly, "but it would be in everyone's best interests if you left it right where it is."

"R-right…"

( 0 0 0 )

Misato tried to keep her head from pounding as Ritsuko gestured to the whiteboard behind her. "So what we have, essentially," the blonde was saying, "is a loss of ego borderline. Basically, Shinji's body has broken apart and reduced to an elemental 'primordial soup' if you will, represented by this diagram here," she circled the crude drawing on the whiteboard, "right now, everything that makes him up is contained in that area… he just can't reform his body."

"Question."

"Yes, Captain Katsuragi?"

"Why?"

Ritsuko glanced around at the gathered command staff, looking extremely uncomfortable. "We umm… we don't know," she admitted. "It _may_ have something to do with the elevated sync ratio Shinji experienced during the fight, but that's not the whole story…"

"Elaborate," the commander said quietly. "Take as much time as you need, Doctor… this _is_ rather crucial."

"Right," Ritsuko nodded, looking more nervous than before. "When Shinji synched with Unit 02… for some reason we cannot explain, his ego borderline was breached. Now, this has happened before… with the loss of Unit 01's pilot as the end result, but in that instance, we believe-"

"That's classified information, Doctor," Gendou cut in coolly, "please stick to the information needed to retrieve _this_ pilot."

Ritsuko paled. "R-right… umm… the bottom line is that Shinji's destrado limit should have been within normal tolerances, meaning that he should not have lost his ego borderline in the first place, and also should have no trouble reforming it." She avoided Misato's eyes as she concluded, "Which means he's being blocked."

Predictably, this information did not sit well with Misato.

"Blocked?" the operations director repeated, her brow drawing down dangerously, "by who? By what?"

Gendou leaned back in his chair, sparing Ritsuko the trouble of answering by murmuring, "Unit 02… correct?"

Ritsuko nodded slowly. "Yes sir," she whispered, "since recovery, we have been reading a low-level electrical current within Unit 02's plug. The frequency is being analyzed by the MAGI, but one of the side-effects is a short circuit in the ejection program for the entry plug, keeping it inserted and sealed."

"Can't we cut it open?" Misato wondered. "Asuka's getting antsy, and if we can… what, why are you shaking your head?"

"If we open the plug," Ritsuko pointed out softly, "we could disperse the core components of Shinji's body, trapping him in Unit 02's core forever."

A profound silence fell over the small group as they considered the ramifications of losing Unit 01's only viable pilot… as well as the son of the Commander, and Misato's current favorite roommate.

"This electrical activity," Gendou said finally, "is there a pattern?"

"Definitely," Ritsuko said firmly, "and… it seems to be building."

"Interesting."

"Wait, building?" Misato said, leaning forward in her chair, "Is Asuka in danger?"

Ritsuko wet her lips. "Not… currently," she said evasively, "the current is at such a low-level, I doubt she even feels it, and at the rate it's been building, she _might_ feel the hairs on her arm stand up in a day or two."

"Which brings up another concern," Gendou pointed out. "The Second Child cannot survive in the plug without sustenance forever. A solution must be found before we lose two pilots."

Motioning for Misato to calm down as she all but shot to her feet, Ritsuko said, "The LCL will keep her hydrated for several days. It won't be comfortable for her, and we'll need to have a pretty damn big dinner waiting for her when she gets out, but humans can survive for days without food. Hopefully it won't come to that, but I think our bases are covered for now."

"Doctor," Gendou said evenly, lacing his fingers together and resting his elbows on the table as he regarded Ritsuko, "this… issue needs resolution. I am making it your number one priority retrieve Unit 01's pilot from that plug as soon as possible. All of NERV's resources are yours in this matter – make it happen, Doctor, and make it happen fast. Dismissed."

Ritsuko bowed as the commander rose to his feet and exited the small conference room without another word.

"Whatever you need from me," Misato said quietly, "it's yours. I'll be in the cages."

Knowing it would be useless to tell the woman that there was nothing she could do to help, Ritsuko simply nodded and watched her old friend make her way out the door.

As soon as the room was empty, the blonde slumped against the wall, letting out a long, ragged sigh. "Oh, this doesn't look good," she muttered to herself, burying her face in her hands.

If there was ever a more hopeless task, she had not heard of it. Succeed where the greatest minds of Geherin had failed? No pressure there!

_No use whining about it,_ she told herself, pushing away from the wall and starting off towards the EVA cages. _Time to get to work._

( 0 0 0 )

Asuka snorted, waking from her fitful sleep and stretching awkwardly in the pilot's seat. "This sucks," she said eloquently, rubbing her eyes in the pitch blackness of the plug and yawning expansively.

She had asked Doctor Akagi to turn off the lights after several hours of severe boredom, hoping that if she took a little nap, they might have a solution for her predicament by the time she woke up. By the chronometer on her wrist, and the fact that she was still in the plug, it was sometime in the middle of the night and she was still stuck.

"Why me?" she muttered, rubbing her arms absently as her hairs momentarily stood on end. "Stuck in a stupid plug with an empty suit – and no one knows why. Hey, stupid Third… are you in here? Can you hear me?" She bit her lip as the silence remained unbroken. "Are you like, a ghost or something now?" she whispered uncomfortably. No one had really explained _what_ had happened to Shinji – and Asuka had never really been a fan of ghosts and ghost stories, so she was feeling more than a little uneasy at the idea of being in such close proximity to one.

"If you _are _a ghost, you better not haunt me," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt, "it wasn't my fault your ego border was breached, you know, so don't-"

Her voice seized up as something brushed her hand.

_Just his suit,_ she told herself, _it's just his plugsuit – don't freak! Do NOT freak!_

Calming herself, she reasoned that it was just the LCL cleaning system kicking in and making a little current, pushing his suit up against her hand – nothing more than that. Simple explanation!

_Only… didn't they say the LCL cleaning system was offline?_ she thought with a shiver. _That's right, they did! And they told me I might have to go in my suit – like that would ever happen – but that I should try to move to the bottom of the plug so I wasn't __brea__-_

She screamed as another, feather-light caress echoed across the back of her hand.

"Who's there?" she demanded, whipping around in the blackness of the entry plug. "Shinji? Shinji is that you? Come on… say something – this isn't funny! Are you back…?" Scrambling backward, Asuka managed to get out of the seat, scooting awkwardly in the darkness until she reached the bottom of the plug.

Suddenly, wetting her suit seemed like a very real possibility.

Something else was in the plug with her – she could hear it rustling in the darkness, just where Shinji's suit was.

"Doctor Akagi!" she cried suddenly, "Hello? Is anyone out there? Turn on the lights – please? It's… I can hear something moving…!"

_Great!_ she thought bitterly, _I'm caught in a bad Ju-on nightmare, and everyone that's supposed to be helping me is off sleeping! Son of a-_

"Asuka…?"

"Misato?" Asuka called, "Oh thank God, I thought everyone had left! Are you near the control panel, can you turn on the… lights…?"

Asuka's skin went dead cold.

The voice had not spoken over the speaker system.

"Asuka, is that you…?"

The Second Child cringed back against the bulkhead, her heart hammering in her chest as something touched her foot. "Who… who are you…?" she gasped, trying not to shake as she realized she had nowhere to run.

She failed as the hand (she could feel that it definitely _was_ a hand) slid slowly, searchingly up from her foot to her ankle to her shin, generating such a primal, visceral fear in Asuka's chest that she could not even squeak, let alone lash out and kick at her assailant, not that she thought it would do any good – not if it really was a ghost, anyway.

"Shh," the voice – it was definitely a woman's voice – urged, "don't be afraid… I won't hurt you."

Somehow, Asuka was no reassured.

"Let me go," she whispered, wishing it came out as a demand instead of a begging whimper. "Don't touch me – get away!"

The voice sounded hurt as it said, "But it's so dark. If I can't touch you, I won't know where you are."

_That's fine by me,_ Asuka thought, pulling her knees up to her chest so that her feet would be out of reach.

There was a long, painful silence before the thing (Asuka did not know of another way to think of it) moved again, slithering along the edge of the bulkhead until it was right next to her.

"Please leave me alone," Asuka said hoarsely, no longer even trying to hide her fear as the thing loomed over her in the dark. From the way the LCL was moving around her, Asuka was fairly sure that the thing was larger than her – at least the size of an adult – so she held no illusions that she could fight it off… and in the dark, with no one to save her, her pride and dignity both seemed to waver and vanish, leaving her shaking and scared as the thing slowly reached out and touched her hair.

"You've grown…" the thing said with a hint of sadness in its voice, "you've grown so much…"

Something about the voice, and the touch, stirred something in Asuka's memory. Straining her eyes in the darkness, she tried to pick out the shape of the thing stroking her hair.

"Here," it said, grasping her lightly by the wrist and bringing her chronometer up, "turn this on."

Asuka did as she was told, blinking as the unexpectedly bright readout from the digital watch cast off an eerie green glow, illuminating the shape of a woman roughly thirty five years old. Using the chronometer like a flashlight, Asuka slowly brought it up, playing it across the woman's bare shoulder until it lit her smiling face.

"Mein… Gott…"

"Guten morgen, mein Liebchen…"

For the second time that day – and only the third in her life – Asuka fainted, unable to cope with the sight before her.

As she slumped against the wall, the woman in the plug with her sighed. "I suppose I can't blame you," she said to the unconscious girl, "it _is_ a bit of a shock, after all. I hope you don't mind if I hold you while you sleep though… it's been so long…"

Carefully, she took Asuka by the shoulders, leading her down until her head was resting in the woman's lap. Lightly stroking the Second's long, red hair, the woman began to hum.

"Rest easy, Liebchen," she whispered soothingly, "Mama's here now…"

Continued…?

Author's notes: Ok, I don't know if I spelled the German right, and I can't remember if the watches on the plugsuits are red or green…but I hope this was an enjoyable read anyway. I've been toying with this story idea for several years now (yes, I have been writing EVA that long, thank you very much) but it wasn't until recently that I had the inspiration to actually write the first chapter. If it gets continued, I figure it'll be about 3-4 chapters or so, and before anyone out there screams, "AOI RIP OFF!" yes, it is very similar in its beginnings… though not even half as dark as that story. Probably not even a quarter as dark… or a tenth – man that story IS pretty damn dark, isn't it?

This chapter was not pre-read, cuz I wanted to post it without anyone knowing it was coming.

Mild-update note – corrected from 'scramble' to 'scuttle' in the first scene, since I had the wrong word in there. Man, you'd think after this long I'd be able to catch stuff like that…

Second update – German spelling corrections courtesy of Jinund, who tried to get me to use something besides Liebchen, but failed cuz I really like that word.

Feedback is always welcome on any page with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.


	2. Stray Cat Strut

Disclaimer – see chapter 1.

Homecoming

Part 2 – Stray Cat Strut

By Random1377

Silence prevailed. Butts shifted uncomfortably in seats. Glances were exchanged. Nervous coughs were uttered. And if Kyoko Zeppelin Souryu had the faintest clue that she was the source of the anxiety in the small briefing room, she made absolutely no sign.

"Mmm," she hummed appreciatively, "this coffee is _really_ good!"

"Thanks," Misato mumbled, eyeing the woman as she fiddled with her own mug, "Kaji made it."

Kyoko turned her sky-blue eyes on the man in question, smiling warmly as she raised her mug to him in salute. "Excellent brew, young man."

Though his hands were laced behind in head in a careful display of casualness, Kaji's eyes were bright and hungry with curiosity as he regarded the newcomer to the NERV installation… though perhaps newcomer was the wrong word, as she had been there longer than everyone currently in the room.

"Young man, eh?" he laughed, "that's one I don't get very often."

Looking the slightest bit catty, Misato added, "And you're only four years older, right? Or was it five?"

Kyoko clucked her tongue, dropping Asuka a wink. "A lady never tells her true age," she pointed out dryly, "besides which, I am technically seven years older than I look due to my… unique circumstance."

She took a sip of her coffee, watching Misato over the rim of her mug as the operations director considered this detail.

"So," she said after another moment of quiet, "what are we waiting for, again?"

"The Commander," the woman named Maya said uncertainly when no one else seemed willing to answer the question… for the fifth time.

Kyoko yawned expansively. "But we've been here forever," she complained, "does he even know where we – Asuka, sit up dear."

Asuka, who had been slowly shrinking away from the woman for at least five minutes, froze like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, her back unconsciously straightening as she stared down at the table in front of her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Yes _mother._"

"…yes mother."

Misato could not help but be amazed by Asuka's behavior. Since the retrieval from the entry plug, and the sketchy details of her mother's spontaneous reappearance, the Second Child had been remarkably subdued, shooting the elder Souryu confused, surreptitious glances as they were collected and sequestered in the thirtieth level's conference room to await Commander Ikari's arrival. As far as Misato could see, Asuka was wary of the woman sitting next to her – which was not that surprising, considering how the woman had died.

_Though can you call that death?_ Misato wondered as Kyoko happily sipped her coffee. _She's here now… I can see her, touch her, interact with her, Hell, I could make out with her if I liked women – but she was buried years ago. How is she even here?_

After a few more moments of quiet, the door to the conference room slid open and Ritsuko strode in, moving to the head of the table as she spoke. "Sorry to keep you all waiting," she said briskly. "The commander will be along in a minute, but I wanted to give everyone a rundown on-"

"Oh my."

Ritsuko blinked, looking up from the clipboard she had been reviewing as Kyoko covered her mouth in surprise.

"You're Naoko's little girl, aren't you?"

All eyes were on the blonde as she looked back to her clipboard, seemingly at a loss for words. Finally, she mumbled, simply, "Yes, ma'am."

Again, Kyoko seemed unaware of the discomfort all around her. "How is she? The last time I saw her, she was working on a trio of supercomputers – very advanced stuff… called them the MAGI, if I remember correctly, named them after the three wise men that-"

"She's… passed away, Misses Souryu," Ritsuko cut in calmly. "I would prefer not to talk about it right now, as there are more pressing issues."

Kyoko frowned. "Passed away?" she echoed. "How sad. My condolences."

"Er, thank you. Now, can you please describe to me how you exited Evangelion Unit 02's core? It is critical that we recover the boy who took your place."

Looking rather dreamy, Kyoko said, "No."

Ritsuko looked up from her clipboard. "I'm sorry…?" she said uncertainly. "No you won't tell me how you got out of the core, or no we don't need to recover our other pilot?"

"Both, actually," Kyoko said simply, seeming to enjoy the incredulity of those around her. "I can't tell you how I got out of the core, and, well, I'm sorry to say this – but I'm not going back."

Into the stunned silence, Gendou made his appearance, walking unhurriedly around to the seat Ritsuko was standing next to and settling into it as if entirely expecting everyone to be gawking at the recovered scientist. Behind him, looking completely unfazed by the silence – or anything else – Rei entered the room, taking the empty seat across from Kyoko and proceeding to rest her chin in her palm and stare at an empty patch of wall across the room from her.

"Souryu."

"Well hello, Rokubungi," Kyoko said lightly. "How've you been?"

The Commander's lips thinned. "It's Ikari."

Kyoko took a sip of her coffee. "Not to me."

Frowning, Misato reassessed the other woman's sharp, attentive eyes. _Not playing anymore, are we?_ she thought astutely. _Ok, she's either crazy as a loon… or she has a hell of a game face. Or maybe it's both…?_

Turning her attention to Rei, and dismissing Gendou entirely, Kyoko said, "Excuse me, miss, but I didn't catch your name."

"Rei," the First said quietly. "Rei Ayanami."

"Ayanami, huh?" Kyoko grinned. "Well, Miss Ayanami… you are the spitting image of a very good friend of mine, Yui Ikari."

Continuing to stare at the wall, Rei murmured, "So I understand."

"Ahem," Gendou cleared his throat. "We have an unusual situation," he said bluntly. "Doctor Akagi, what are your initial findings on Unit 02 and Misses Souryu?"

Closing her mouth, which had dropped open at Kyoko's undisguised lack of respect for the Commander, Ritsuko said, "I umm, well… the MAGI confirm that Unit 02 _is_ holding a soul… so it's reasonable to assume Shinji's still in there – and after taking a blood sample and matching it against genetic records, they have determined that this is, indeed… Kyoko Souryu."

Kyoko raised her mug to the table in general. "Kanpai!" she shouted. "Did you hear that, everyone? I'm me! Drink up!"

"Your levity is unappreciated," Gendou said coldly.

"By you, anyway," Kyoko countered, "though you never had much of a sense of humor, Rokubungi."

"It's _Ikari._"

"Not to me."

"How did you get out?" Gendou demanded.

"Don't remember," Kyoko said breezily. "Sorry. Everything past 2006 is just bits and pieces… and this evening is a total blur."

"Unit 01's pilot is trapped in your place," the Commander said, his tone dripping with warning as he folded his hands in front of his face. "There is no backup – it is imperative that you return to Unit 02's core immediately, so-"

Kyoko's voice was merry as she cut in, "I think not, Rokunbungi – I've been in there for seven years… it's someone else's turn for a while."

"It's Ikari."

"Not to _m-e_."

"Souryu, I'm warning you-"

"This isn't productive," Ritsuko interjected quickly. "Commander, the MAGI are still working on their analysis of the events leading to this… situation." She checked her watch. "It's two forty-five… we're all tired… and this conversation is just leading in circles. I recommend that we call it a night and come back in the morning."

"I don't care what time it is," Gendou rumbled, shooting daggers at Kyoko with his eyes, "Unit 02's viability must be tested immediately. As it stands… we have _no_ defense – or is that detail eluding you, _Doctor_?" As Ritsuko paled, Gendou concluded, "Misses Souryu will be checked into a hotel with full Section Two escort, while the Second Child will be placed back into Unit 02 for-"

Asuka's head whipped up. "Not a chance!" she cried, blushing as all eyes fell to her, but trying to maintain her brave façade as she added, "There's no way you're getting me back in there!"

Gendou rose to his feet. "You will do as you are ordered, pilot," he said dangerously.

To everyone's surprise, Kyoko also rose to her feet, and while her demeanor was nowhere near as intimidating as the Commander's, her words seemed to weigh just as much as his.

"Don't talk to my daughter like that, Rokubungi."

Abruptly she smiled, patting Asuka affectionately on the head.

"Would you be a dear and sync with Unit 02?" she said, sounding as if she was asking nothing more demanding than having the redhead clean her room. "It _is_ rather important, liebchen, and we'll have plenty of time to talk tomorrow."

Asuka, Misato decided, did not look as if she was excited at the prospect of talking to her mother.

_God I feel sorry for her,_ she thought suddenly, her heart going out to the confused Child as her petrified eyes scanned the room for a savior. _She's had to live for herself for seven years, and now her mother – her DEAD mother – is back, acting like nothing happened and talking about hanging out and… oo… bad choice of words._

Clearing her throat, Misato said, "I'll oversee the synchronization, Commander, and when it's done… Asuka can stay the night at my place. It is her first night in town, after all, and we've known each other for a while – I think it would be best if she could stay with someone she is familiar with."

"Agreed," Gendou said, sounding as if Asuka's sleeping arrangements were no more important to him than the mud he had stepped in earlier in the evening. "Rei."

"Yes, Commander?"

"You will escort Misses Souryu to her hotel and act as her guide until someone else can be appointed."

"Yes, Commander."

Everyone exchanged glances at this odd arrangement, but no one questioned the Commander's orders.

"Dismissed."

"I'll see you in the morning, liebchen," Kyoko said, pulling Asuka into a tight hug before she could escape, "do your best, ja?"

"J-ja," Asuka stammered, practically running out of the room after Misato.

"I'm sure we'll talk again soon, Rokubungi."

"Count on it, Souryu… and the name is Ikari."

Kyoko bowed politely and made her way out of the room, eyeing Kaji with open appreciation as she cast one final, "Not to me," over her shoulder.

As the others filed out, Rei remained seated, waiting until the door clicked closed to turn her attention to the Commander.

"Rei."

"Yes, sir?"

Gendou walked slowly around the table, putting his hand on Rei's shoulder as he whispered, "You understand that this woman is a potential threat to the scenario, correct?"

Nodding, Rei replied, "Yes, sir. According to the records you gave me, she was psychologically unstable, ultimately taking her own life after suffering from psychosis induced by her direct contact experiment."

"Very concise," Gendou said approvingly. "So you understand why I have placed you with her."

Again, Rei nodded. "To observe her and ensure that she does not endanger your goals."

Gendou reached into his pocket. "Do not leave her side," he said firmly, pressing something made of hard plastic into Rei's palm, "and if she becomes… unreasonable, you are to incapacitate her, understood? Under no circumstance is she to be sanctioned. We need to recover Unit 01's pilot at all cost, and she is the key."

Accepting the tazer without question, Rei answered, "Understood, sir."

As the First made her exit, Gendou's composed features finally collapsed into a mask of rage. _That woman,_ he thought furiously, _I never could stand her! How is it that she managed to free herself? Oh, I'll be watching you very closely, Misses Souryu, and you WILL be returning to Unit 02, even if I have to shove you in there myself! I will not have my plans diverted!_

( 0 0 0 )

Asuka sat perfectly still in the entry plug, pretending that she was not terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.

_Mama…_ the word echoed in her frazzled mind, _Mama…_

Unpleasant memories, long submerged in Asuka's thoughts, surfaced and wreaked havoc with her emotions. A doll… an empty smile… a bare, dangling foot – nothing associated with the word 'mother' was good in her mind.

"Are you ready?"

Asuka had to swallow several times before she could respond to Misato's softly spoken question.

"No," she said quietly, "I don't want to do this, Misato…"

Misato's face appeared in a small window in Unit 02's control panel. "I know you don't," she said soothingly, "but it's important, Asuka… the Commander wasn't lying about that. Right now, you are our only hope. Unit 00 is still under repair, Unit 01 only starts for Shinji… we _need_ you here, Asuka, do you understand?"

Asuka shifted in her seat. "Of course I understand," she said bitterly, "I'm not stupid, you know – but this thing _ate_ Ikari! Would _you_ want to be in here?"

"I would if I could," Misato said honestly, "for a lot of reasons."

Taking a deep breath, Asuka muttered, "Let's just get this over with."

"Yeah."

"Hey Misato…?"

"Hmm?"

There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Is Kaji good in bed?"

"_What_?"

When Asuka spoke next, Misato could tell the redhead was smiling. "Come on," she cajoled, "you can tell me – I'm about to die, after all."

Misato bit her lip. "You won't die," she said firmly, nodding to Maya to begin the synchronization experiment. "Here we go."

Asuka closed her eyes as the first stage connection was made, trying her best to believe that she was not going to be swallowed whole by the hulking behemoth she was strapped into. _Everything is riding on me,_ she told herself firmly, _I can't fail – I won't fail! God, what am I thinking? That… woman is getting under my skin. I'm tougher than this! I don't need her! …I don't._

"Stage two," Misato announced over the comm system. "Still ok?"

"Fantastic," Asuka said dryly, "let's do this."

"Roger that. Oh, and Asuka?"

"Hmm?"

"He is."

Asuka laughed, but it was short-lived as Maya announced, "Third stage neural connection in five… four… three… two – absolute borderline!"

Asuka held her breath as the entry plug flashed through the colors of the rainbow, finally settling on an image of the pribnow box, with Misato's concerned face staring through the glass.

"Asuka," the woman was saying, "everything ok?"

"Umm, looks like it," Asuka said cautiously, flexing Unit 02's fingers a bit, "it… feels a little different than before, but I'm not breaking into component atoms or anything… am I?"

Misato laughed with relief. "No," she sighed, "everything seems to be working just fine."

Letting out a breath she was not aware she was holding, Asuka leaned her head back in the seat and closed her eyes. "Regular sync test, right?" she said shakily.

"Right."

"Man, I wish I could take a nap or somethi-"

"Asuka…?"

The redhead's eyes snapped open.

"Anything wrong?" Misato asked over the comm. system.

"Er, no," Asuka said with a little frown, "no, just… thought I heard something."

Shaking her head, Asuka leaned back in the seat… but after a few more minutes of silence, she distinctly heard, "Asuka… can you hear me…?"

Glancing from side to side, Asuka said, "Hey Misato?"

"Hmm?"

"You guys aren't… picking anything up on internal speakers are you?"

Misato frowned. "Umm, no… why?"

"Nothing, nothing," Asuka said quickly, afraid they might think she was starting to go crazy if she told them she could hear voices in the plug… and more afraid that she might actually _be_ crazy than anything else.

"Ok… should only be a few more minutes."

Asuka nodded, idly tapping her fingers on the control yoke for a moment before making up her mind.

"Shinji," she whispered, pitching her voice too low for the audio pickups, "Shinji… is that you?"

Her eyes went wide as she realized that the voice she was hearing was not ringing in her ears, but directly in her mind.

"…y-yeah."

( 0 0 0 )

"Mmmaahhh!" Kyoko yawned, stretching her arms up over her head as she emerged from the hotel's bathroom, "There's nothing like a good shower after seven years in a giant bioroid, know what I mean?"

Rei ignored her… or pretended to, anyway, keeping her eyes directed out the window as the older woman toweled her hair dry. The tazer was heavy and uncomfortable against the small of Rei's back, but she did not fidget or squirm – that might give her away. Instead, she simply watched Kyoko's reflection in the window and tried to determine if the woman's behavior was 'suspicious.'

In all honesty, she did not like this assignment – it left too much to her own discretion. She was an unabashed order-taker, uncomfortable making her own decisions if she did not have to, and the definition of what did or did not constitute suspiciousness was a little too broad for Rei's liking.

"Hey," Kyoko called, "let's go out!"

How unfortunate that boisterous was not synonymous with suspicious, Rei mused.

The Souryu woman would have been unconscious hours ago.

"We were directed to stay in a hotel," she pointed out softly.

"No," Kyoko corrected, picking up the phone, "we were directed to check _in_ to a hotel – Rokubungi never said we had to stay here."

Rei pursed her lips.

Leave it to this woman to find a loophole in the Commander's orders.

"Room service?" she heard Kyoko say into the phone, "Do you have a clothing shop? You do? Excellent! Bring me one of everything from the woman's section in a size two, and one of everything from your young ladies section in a size… oh… nine, I suppose, I may need to have a smaller size, I really don't know how big my companion is. Yes, I know what time it is – I'll pay extra. No, thank _you_."

Unable to remain silent, Rei whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Getting us clothes," Kyoko said happily, "can't make the scene in a towel or a hand-me-down NERV jumper, now can I? And no bar is going to let you in wearing that school getup."

"Bar?" Rei echoed, finally raising her head, "I cannot go to a bar… it is the middle of the night, and I am underage."

Kyoko smiled. "There are bars that are open all night, and they'll let you in," she said confidently. "You look old enough – or you will in a nice dress and a little makeup."

"I cannot-"

"Guess I'll go alone then," Kyoko cut in airily.

Rei slowly closed her mouth. Her orders had been clear – do not leave Souryu's side.

"…I will go."

_Is this unreasonable behavior?_ she wondered dismally. _No… unfortunately I don't think this qualifies._

"Let's see your strut."

Blinking, Rei looked up. "Pardon?"

"Your strut," Kyoko said clearly, "you know, your, 'look at me' walk."

"I… do not understand."

Putting a hand on her hip, Kyoko slowly crossed the room… and Rei noticed that this was a decidedly different gait than the one she normally used. Her hips rolled slightly from side to side and she seemed to glide rather than walk, her feet practically floating above the floor until she was standing next to Rei's chair.

"No matter what, you've got to strut," Kyoko said, sounding as if she was quoting a movie line. "Let me see how you walk, Miss Ayanami."

"I would rather not," Rei said bluntly. "I will accompany you, but-"

"Oh please," Kyoko laughed, grabbing Rei's hand and pulling her to her feet, "you don't have to be ashamed if you don't know how to do it. Here, I'll show you."

Rei's eyes widened as the older woman spun her around and put her hands on Rei's waist.

"You've just got to put a little dip in your hip," Kyoko said impishly, "swing that cute little butt a little – make the guys notice."

Completely taken aback as the older woman pushed down on her right hip to illustrate her point, Rei mumbled, "I do not think I am capable of-"

"How old _are_ you anyway?" Kyoko cut in, shifting pressure from one of Rei's hips to the other and moving her other hand away.

Pulling away from the older woman, Rei said, "I am in my fourteenth year, the same as Pilot Souryu."

"No," Kyoko said, her tone losing all of its playful quality, "I mean your real age."

Rei felt a chill work through her as Kyoko's arm slid easily around her upper chest.

In her hand, less than five inches from Rei's eyes, was the tazer, slipped deftly from inside the back of her skirt while Rei was distracted by Kyoko's other hand.

Time stood still as Kyoko whispered, "Based on your behavior and development, and the length of time I was in Unit 02, I'd guess you're about seven, am I right?"

"I do not know what you are talk-"

"I worked on your project, you know," Kyoko cut in quietly, "it was still incomplete when I was absorbed, but we were awfully close. So I guess, in a very abstract sort of way… maybe more than to my own child, considering the hours I put in, I'm your mother, too." She sighed, patting Rei's hip lightly as she hefted the tazer. "You know exactly what you are, don't you?" she murmured sadly. "You're not scared of me one little bit… because you know they'll replace you in a second if I killed you."

Seeing no reason to deny this, Rei simply replied, "Yes… though the Commander will not be pleased if I am harmed."

Kyoko snorted derisively. "He's a blowhard," she muttered, "Always has been." Slowly, she let Rei go, popping the tazer open and pulling the batteries out before dropping it in the garbage can.

There was a knock at the door.

Both women ignored it.

"What are your intentions?"

Kyoko smiled softly. "You know my intentions," she said quietly. "I intend to go out to a bar, have a little too much to drink, flirt with a few guys, come back here, and throw up. Rather like your Captain Katsuragi, I'd think, though she has a place of her own to puke in. After that… well, we'll just have to see now, won't we? I've been cooped up a long time, Miss Ayanami. I plan to live a little."

Rei glanced over her shoulder as the knock was repeated.

"Are you coming with me?"

Turning back to face the older woman, Rei found her serious expression replaced with her usual, playful smile. "You are… not as you seem," Rei observed quietly.

Heading towards the door, Kyoko whispered, "No one is, Miss Ayanami… now will you be joining me this evening, or will I be hitting the town on my own?"

Considering Kyoko for a moment, Rei gave a minute shrug. "I have been ordered to remain with you," she pointed out coolly.

"Seems like such a poor reason to go to a bar," Kyoko sighed. "Oh well, at least I'll have company. Now let's pick out some clothes."

Thoughtfully, Rei accompanied her to the door, staring with amazement as a cadre of hotel employees rolled in the biggest selection of clothes she had ever seen, and while she was not entirely caught up in Kyoko's energy, she _was_ swept up in the frantic pace the woman set, trying on outfit after outfit as Kyoko clapped or booed, until she ended up winded and flushed, but dressed in a gorgeous, midnight blue evening dress with sheer material where the shoulders and upper chest should have been.

So dressed, she followed Kyoko – who wore a red version of the same dress – out into the night, refusing to admit that she was, in spite of her strict orders to watch the woman like a hawk… starting to enjoy herself.

Continued…

Author's notes: Nothing to note really, except that they never say what Kyoko did for Gehrin past being involved with Unit 02, so I feel perfectly comfortable having her dabbling in EVA and a few other projects. Besides – what's better than Rei in an evening dress at a bar, eh? _EH?_

Didn't have a pre-reader on this chapter, either.

Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot) com.


	3. Staying In and Going Out

Disclaimer – see chapter 1.

Homecoming

Part 3 – Staying In and Going Out

By Random1377

There were very few times in Asuka's life that she could say she was actually thunderstruck – she was a woman of action, and as such, she always had something to say to anyone that had something to say to her. This, naturally, was quite the exception to that rule.

"Thank God you can hear me!" Shinji's voice said, sounding tiny and far away. "I thought I might not be able to get through to you."

Finally unlocking her vocal chords, Asuka began, "I can… hear you, but it's all… small. Are you-"

"Ow!" Shinji's voice whined, "That hurts! Don't yell!"

"I'm not yelling," Asuka said angrily, "I'm barely whisper-"

"OW!"

Asuka's mouth snapped closed.

_Great,_ she thought bitterly, _I'm talking to a whiney ghost._

"I'm not a ghost… and I'm not whiney! How would you feel if you-"

"Wait," Asuka cut in, "you heard tha-"

"You're yelling again!"

Pursing her lips, Asuka deliberately thought, _Shinji's a prick._

"Hey!"

_You can hear that?_ Asuka thought, looking all around for any sign of the Third, though she knew perfectly well she would not find any.

"Yeah… aren't you talking?" Shinji replied, sounding confused. "It's… weird in here, Asuka… I don't like it."

"Hey Asuka," Misato's voice boomed suddenly, "your sync ratio is going up! Looking good."

"Er, thanks…"

"Thanks for what?" Shinji wondered.

_I was talking to Misato,_ Asuka thought, barely remembering not to speak out loud. _Didn't you hear her?_

"No," Shinji said sadly, "I can see her over there in the pribnow box, now that you're synchronized, but I can't hear her…"

Nodding to herself, Asuka realized that this made sense. If Misato had been standing next to Unit 02's head, Shinji probably would have heard her – since he _was_ Unit 02.

_This is messed up…_

"You're telling me!" Shinji cried, "Before you started syncing, everything was dark and cold… they turn the EVAs' systems off when they're not in use, you know – it's like being tied up in a closet with no light."

_So,_ Asuka thought, trying to puzzle the situation out, _you can hear me when I think… but when I talk, it's like I'm screaming… and you can't hear Misato when she's talking over the comm.-link. Right?_

Shinji sounded relieved. "Yeah, yeah!" he said excitedly, "I can 'hear' you like that, and I… wait… now I'm starting to see things too…"

Asuka frowned.

"Up two more points," Misato informed her. "Wow, you're syncing better with Shinji in there than you were with your mother. Can we keep you in a few more minutes?"

"Sure, Misato," Asuka said quietly, trying to avoid bursting Shinji's eardrums… or whatever was the equivalent when they were synchronized.

A sudden jab of anxiety hit her. _Hey!_ she thought suspiciously, _What are you seeing?_

"Well," Shinji said slowly, "I can see through your eyes, and I'm… starting to pick up what you're feeling, a little, but I'm – oh wow…"

_What?_

Shinji's voice was suddenly very embarrassed. "I'm, er… seeing things you've seen… or things you want to see, I'm not sure…"

_Like what?_ Asuka demanded. _Hey! Don't look, you freak!_

"I can't stop it!" Shinji protested. "It's…I'm merging… with you somehow. It's… Kaji?"

_NO!_ Asuka thought desperately, _No, don't look at that stuff! Pervert! Hentai! BAKAAA!_

There was a very long, very profound silence.

"…can you even bend like that?"

"Asuka!" Misato's voice cried, "Are you ok? What was that scream?"

"I'm fine," Asuka groaned pitifully, "I want to get out now."

"No!" Shinji said desperately. "Don't leave me! I don't like it here, Asuka… don't leave me all alone!"

"Ok," Misato said, "give us just one-"

"No, it's ok… just had a little freak out… let's keep going."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure…"

_Stop going through my fant- er thoughts, you psycho!_ Asuka thought as soon as Misato clicked off the comm. link.. _That's private! And don't tell me you can't – you can think of something else, or… or look away or something!_

Shinji's voice was pathetic as he replied, "Yes, ma'am…"

_Good,_ Asuka thought firmly, _now, I have to get out of here so I can see how to get YOU out of here, alright? Tell me what happened when your body got broken apart, and I'll talk to Doctor Akagi to see how we can get things back the way they should be._

"But what about your mother…?"

Asuka hesitated. _I… I don't know,_ she thought, _she's… not the person I remember._

"So you're ok with her getting stuck in here instead of me?" Shinji wondered. "We just met… why do you-"

_What is it?_ Asuka thought as Shinji cut himself off, _what's wrong? Did something happen?_ Her blood ran cold. _What did you see…?_

"N-nothing," Shinji stammered, "I'll… I'll be waiting for when you get back."

_Alright,_ Asuka thought back, trying to guess at what he had seen. She gritted her teeth as she thought more about the topic of conversation, and she clenched her eyes closed, willing her mind to focus on something else… but it was too late. Shinji knew everything – Asuka could sense that he did, what with synchronization being a two-way affair and all. There was nothing she could do to take that knowledge back… nothing she could say to explain how violated this made her feel… nothing to take the edge off of the rage-tinged pain ripping through her as she _felt_ Shinji cringe back from her.

Fortunately, she did not have to speak – mentally or otherwise – for Shinji to understand.

"…I'm sorry. Asuka, I'm so sorry."

( 0 0 0 )

Rei glanced around the crowded, seedy bar with obvious distaste. "This environment is… desirable?"

"For getting tanked?" Kyoko said brightly. "Absolutely!"

The First pulled a bit closer to her companion, not out of any fear of being harmed of course, but to avoid accidentally brushing up against any of the unclean tables… or patrons.

Together with Kyoko, she sidled up to the bar, mounting a stool with great reluctance as the older woman flagged down the bartender. "I need a shot!" Kyoko demanded, raising a cheer from the barflies. "Give me a double of anything but Goldschlager – and a Long Island Iced Tea for my girlfriend!"

Turning to Rei, she gave the girl a wink.

"You don't mind being my date tonight, do you? Promise I won't cop a feel."

Though she had been trained to suppress her emotions, Rei had very little experience with physical contact or ideas of affection and romance – so the very idea of having the Second Child's mother touching her brought a pale blush to her cheeks. "It would not be appropriate," she muttered, trying to edge away from the woman, "perhaps I should wait in the car."

Kyoko waved a hand. "Now, now," she said patiently, "I wouldn't really touch you, you silly thing – but if anyone asks if you're here with someone, it's me." Her smile softened as she lowered her voice and leaned a little closer to whisper, "That way you won't get hit on as much. A lot of guys will respect a girl with another girl more than a girl by herself. There will be some that won't be bothered by it of course… hell, some dig that stuff, but trust me – being my 'date' is _much_ better than being prey."

As if to illustrate her point, a rather corpulent man staggered up to Rei. "Hey," he slurred, smiling drunkenly as he leaned over her, "you here alone, sweetheart?"

Rei felt that this was a stupid question, as she was dressed identically to Kyoko and had walked in the door with her, but instead of pointing this out, she simply murmured, "Yes, I am here with my… girlfriend."

"Izat right?" the drunk mumbled, wheeling away in search of easier targets. "Good ones're always taken…"

"See?" Kyoko said happily, pressing a tall glass into Rei's hand, "Just stay close to me."

Rei nodded, taking a sip of her iced tea and finding it remarkably sweet. "This is very good," she observed, smacking her lips as she considered the drink.

"Isn't it just?" Kyoko said impishly, "Drink it slow, ok? If you like something, you should savor it – free advice from me to you."

As Rei murmured that she would, Kyoko turned her attention to her shot.

"Kanpai," she whispered, upending the double with a quick flick of her wrist and coughing as the alcohol burned its way down her throat.

"Been a while, has it?" a voice at her elbow remarked.

Kyoko grinned, pounding her chest dramatically as she replied, "Seven years sober, young man, seven years sober. Never was much of a drinker to begin with – low tolerance and all that – but every now and then, it does a body good to get rip-roaring drunk."

"Should you be telling a complete stranger that you have a low tolerance?" the man on the stool next to her commented, arching an eyebrow in shock.

"Why should I?" Kyoko asked, smiling as the booze began to warm her stomach.

"Well, I might take advantage of you," the man said easily, giving her a blatant once-over. "Probably will, when you get right down to it."

Ordering a second shot – a single this time, with a beer chaser – Kyoko said, "Maybe I wouldn't mind… though I think my daughter might have some choice words for me if I did."

"Ahh there's always a daughter," the man said wisely, "or a lesbian lover, or something like that. Excuses, excuses."

"But I'm so good at making them, Mister Kaji," Kyoko said innocently, turning her full attention to the pony-tailed man at her side. "Not unlike yourself, I'd imagine. It must have been quite a trick to get past the watchdogs your 'Commander' set on us… they seem tenacious."

Kaji shrugged, glancing into his drink as he muttered, "Eh… came in the back door. They weren't even looking."

Kyoko laughed with delight. "A man after my own heart!" She grinned wolfishly, "And Asuka's. You _do_ know what synchronization means, don't you young man? What it really means to unite with another soul."

"Well," Kaji drawled, "I _was_ rather hoping you could shed some light on that for me… that and a few other little question marks I've had bumping around in my mind for a while."

"Ohh and how were you going to get that information from me, Mister Kaji?" Kyoko teased. "Seduce me?"

"Thought crossed my mind… but I'm guessing I wouldn't be the one doing the seducing."

Kyoko glanced at Rei, pleased to find the girl simply glancing around the bar and nursing her Long Island as she watched the nightlife. So far, she seemed completely unaware that the other NERV employee was with them.

"It _has_ been seven years, Mister Kaji," Kyoko said seriously, turning her eyes back to the man, "I wouldn't be adverse to a little affection… though knowing what's in my daughter's head might make it a little hard for me to live with myself in the morning."

"Mmm," Kaji hummed, "but letting an innocent boy take your place in Unit 02's core leaves you sleeping like a baby."

"Aren't we high and mighty," Kyoko muttered, throwing her second shot back and grimacing with distaste. "Let me tell you something, young man… seven years in the cold and dark, with only a few flashes of warmth and human contact – from a daughter you know you can never talk to again – can alter a person's point of view ever so slightly. So, as the old saying goes, until you've walked a mile in my shoes, shut the hell up."

Kaji chuckled. "I don't think that's the exact saying," he mused, "and please forgive my clumsy attempts to get you riled up – you seemed so smooth with the Commander, I didn't think I'd actually get to you."

"Normally you wouldn't," Kyoko said, her smile returning as she tapped her glass against Kaji's, "catch me after a full night's sleep and it's a different story."

Returning her smile, Kaji inclined his chin towards Rei. "She has no idea what she's drinking, does she?"

Kyoko shrugged. "I told her to take it slow, and I won't buy her a second… but have you met the girl? Good lord, I thought Rokubungi was tightly wound – she makes him look like a hippy."

Kaji laughed, shaking his head as Kyoko took a sip of her beer. "So," he said boldly, "can I ask you a few things, or do I have to get you drunk and sleep with you first?"

Setting her glass down, Kyoko said, "Don't kill my buzz, young man. I know you're dying to know what I know – it's coming off of you like bad cologne – but tonight's not the night."

"This is the best place," Kaji insisted, "who knows when the Commander will let you out of his sight again."

Kyoko patted him on the hand. "You poor, poor stupid man," she said consolingly, "I split my time between this branch and Gehrin Germany on a week-by-week schedule –and I went drinking with Naoko Akagi on a regular basis. Hell, we were at a strip club together less than a week before she killed herself. I know more about your headquarters than Rokubungi does, believe me. The only way he could keep me there is to kill me – which we both know he's not going to do. Don't worry… you'll get what you want."

Kaji shook his head with wonder. "Bits and pieces, huh?" he marveled. "You lied straight to the Commander's face – you remember everything, don't you? Good God, woman, I think I love you…"

"It's only a lie if someone uncovers it, young man, otherwise it's just… discretion."

"Which is the better part of valor," Kaji concluded approvingly. "Alright, then, I think I'll be on my way – let you enjoy the rest of your evening and whatnot. Just don't forget me next time you break out."

"Deal."

Laying a bill on the counter, Kaji called the bartender. "For the ladies," he said coolly, tapping the bill for emphasis, "and umm… just bring the blue-haired one Coke from now on, ok?"

"Mister Kaji."

"Hmm?"

"…thank you for not taking advantage of my daughter."

Kaji bowed formally. "I've been called some rude names in my past, Misses Souryu," he said lightly, "I don't plan to add 'scumbag' to the list."

Kyoko grinned, nudging the man in the ribs as she confided, "I thought I raised her better, Mister Kaji – honestly… but some of the things she's come up with? Yikes! Maybe going to college that young wasn't such a good thing for her. Put too many ideas into that pretty little head of hers."

Chuckling softly, Kaji replied, "Please spare me the details of your daughter's imaginary sex life with me, alright? I find it… creepy."

"You and me both," Kyoko said fervently, "Lord the things that girl thinks of…"

In spite of his professed disinterest in the young redhead, Kaji still shivered as Kyoko offered one final commentary on her daughter's fantasies.

"I don't even think she can bend like that…"

( 0 0 0 )

"Hey," Misato said, waving to Asuka as she emerged from the locker room. "You ok?"

"Mm?" Asuka said distractedly, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine… just tired as hell. What time is it anyway?"

"Nearly dawn."

"Ouch…"

Misato nodded. "Tell me about it," she commiserated, heading towards the parking garage with Asuka trailing along behind, "I have to be on shift in like, ten hours." They walked in silence for several minutes before the older woman finally gathered up the courage to ask, "So with Shinji in there… was it… really different?"

Asuka bit her lip, remembering her agreement with Shinji to keep his communiqués with her a secret for now – just in case Ritsuko decided it was dangerous and kept her from coming back, leaving him alone again. "It felt the same for controlling Unit 02," she answered truthfully, "but it was a completely different… I don't know how to describe it – it's a feeling you only get from piloting EVA, but it was a different sync, I guess."

"Could you… feel Shinji in there?"

_Time to lie._

"Well, not him, I don't think – or, you know, not like, something I could recognize… it was just syncing with EVA, only a little different."

She didn't like withholding the truth from Misato – they had known each other for quite some time, after all – but she and Shinji had determined that the fewer people that knew the truth, the better. _That Akagi woman is the one that can help,_ Asuka reminded herself, _no__ one else needs to know about Shinji's… awareness besides her._ She slowed her pace. _Mother,_ she thought slowly, _what am I doing? I have my mother back, and I'm scheming to get her back into Unit 02. Damn, yesterday I didn't even know she was there, and now she's back to life, and I'm trying to… to get rid of her. What am I doing?_

A light touch on her shoulder made her look up suddenly.

"Are you really ok?" Misato whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Asuka said coolly, "get off of me, ok? I've had a long day."

Misato nodded, but did not step out of the girl's way. "You don't need to feel bad about Shinji, you know," she murmured, "we'll get him out."

Asuka averted her eyes. "Why would I worry about him?" she said quietly, "I don't even know him."

_Liar!_ her mind screamed. _I'm lying all over the place. There was nothing the same about that last sync – nothing at all. Normally it's just me and the EVA, that's why I didn't know Mama was there… but this time I knew someone else was there, and we… God, we bleed into each other, that's what it feels like._ She rubbed absently at her arm as Misato sighed and stepped away from her. _I'll bet I smell like him right now._

"You know," Misato said as they started walking again, "Shinji's not that bad once you get to know him. I think you guys would get along, if you gave him a chance and got to know him."

This comment struck Asuka as amusing.

If she got to know Shinji? She knew him better than anyone, after that sync test! He knew her secrets… and she knew his. It would almost be better if he never got out, because there was no way she could look him in the eye. Not now. Not with everything the way it was.

"And what do you think of Shinji?" she asked suddenly. "He seems kind of wimpy to me."

She knew what Shinji's perception of Misato's feelings was, of course, but she was curious to see how accurate it was. Seeing the world through someone else's eyes can skew your own views, she reasoned… and it would be best not to jump to conclusions without getting all the facts first.

After all, the sync did not let her read peoples' minds.

…just Shinji's.

"He can be a little unreliable," Misato admitted, "but overall, I think he's a great guy. I'll be doing everything I can to get him back."

_Store that away for next sync,_ Asuka thought, inexplicably pleased that she would be bringing Shinji some good news.

"Would you go out with him?"

Misato came up short.

_Woops,_ Asuka thought, _that one kind of popped out, huh? Must be because I'm so tired._

After a moment, Misato kept walking. "No," she said finally, "I wouldn't."

"Ah."

"…unless he was older."

Unsure if this was a joke or not, Asuka glanced at the woman's profile.

"How did we get on this topic again?"

"You brought it up," Misato pointed out.

"No," Asuka corrected, "you were the one trying to hook me up with Shinji."

"I was not! I was just saying he's a nice guy!"

"…a nice guy you _want_!"

Misato's jaw dropped. "I… I do not!" she stammered, hurrying to catch up as Asuka suddenly sprinted ahead.

"Misato and Shinji, sitting in a tree," Asuka sang merrily, "K-"

"Don't you dare!"

Laughing out loud, Asuka hurried forward, trying her best to pretend that her joy was based on life itself, and not the sudden remembrance that she was free to do what she wanted, rather than being trapped inside a giant, unfeeling machine.

Continued…

Author's notes: in case it was not clear enough in the bar scene – Rei could not see or hear Kaji because Kyoko was in the way and the bar was very loud. I kept looking at that scene to find ways to improve it, and that one detail just never quite gelled for me. Oh well, eh? So, Kyoko's had her night on the town, Asuka's found out the truth about Shinji – and Shinji's found out the truth about her. What could possibly come next? Why, heavy weapons fire and massive collateral damage! Or possible a hung-over Rei, I'm not really sure. I'd put it to a vote, but by the time this chapter goes online, the next one will be half written. Hopefully, anyway.

No pre-reader was used for this chapter.

Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.


	4. Surrogate

Disclaimer – see chapter 1.

Homecoming

Part 4 – Surrogate

By Random1377

Rei woke feeling warm and incredibly well rested. By the quality of the light filtering through the closed blinds in the hotel room, she guessed it was sometime in the afternoon, but Rei was not concerned by this – she was on official NERV business, and she had never cared for school all that much in the first place.

One more 'absent' mark to her collection truly did not bother her.

Yawning delicately, she tried to rub her face, but found this rather difficult as her arms seemed to be involved in the unexpected task of cradling the Second Child's mother quite affectionately to her chest.

"Oh," the woman said coolly, "I see you're finally up. Good morning."

"Good morning," Rei replied calmly, assessing the situation carefully as she tried to understand what, exactly, had happened.

She remembered the bar, and the two drinks a rather forceful patron had convinced her to have before Kyoko had noticed and shooed the man away… but the rest of the evening was rather blurry. Kyoko had given her several glasses of water, telling her that it would dilute the alcohol, but she did not seem terribly concerned about it, and after some time… the laughter and the jokes and the merriment of those around her seemed to bleed together for Rei.

Somehow, she had the uncomfortable notion that sharing a bed had been her idea.

"This is a bit of a reversal," Kyoko observed, making no move to free herself from Rei's arms. "I'm supposed to be the mother figure."

_Well,_ Rei mused ironically, _at least I have THAT secret left._

"Excuse me," she murmured, starting to pull away, "I did not mean-"

"You don't have to let me go," Kyoko said softly, "I don't mind it…"

To emphasize this, Kyoko reached up and grasped Rei's wrist, keeping her from pulling her arm away. Though she found this arrangement a bit uncomfortable, Rei made no protest, allowing the woman to snuggle a bit closer, resting her head on Rei's breast as her eyes drifted closed.

"Do you think it's strange of me to want you to hold me like this…?"

Rei considered the question for only a moment. "No," she replied truthfully. "As you've said… you have been without human contact for many years. It is reasonable to believe that you would seek it where you can."

Kyoko laughed softly. "You're pretty understanding, considering how standoffish you've been since we met."

"I am not."

"Pardon?"

"I am not understanding," Rei said simply, "I am reasonable. My answer was the logical conclusion based on your circumstances, nothing more."

Shrugging minutely, Kyoko said, "I guess beggars can't be choosers."

"Mm."

"We had ourselves quite an adventure last night, didn't we?" Kyoko mused, lingering against Rei's side for one last moment before pulling away. "I didn't mean for you to get drunk, though… does your head hurt or anything?"

Rei shook her head. "No," she said quietly, "I am fine."

"You were cute," the older woman said playfully, "all the guys wanted your number."

Averting her eyes, Rei whispered, "You are… embarrassing me."

Kyoko laughed with delight, but she cut herself off as a sharp stabbing pain filled her head. "Damn," she groaned, "shouldn't have done that. Guh… I'm gonna be sick…"

Quickly, she threw back the covers and hurried into the bathroom. Rei decided that she was very grateful to the woman for having the presence of mind to close the door before relegating the contents of her stomach to the toilet basin. Sitting up in bed, the First cast around for her clothes, finding (much to her consternation) that she had been sleeping with Kyoko hugged tightly against her bra.

If the older woman had been looking for physical comfort, Rei had definitely offered it.

_Why?_ she asked herself, spying her school uniform still draped carefully over the back of the chair she had left it on. _Her emotional wellbeing is not my concern. Even inebriated, I should not have felt protective of a woman I barely know…_

Still musing over this odd situation, Rei dressed herself, glancing up as Kyoko finally emerged from the bathroom, looking far less green than when she had gone in.

"Guess your Commander's gonna wanna talk to me today, huh?"

Rei buttoned the last button on her shirt. "I would imagine so," she confirmed evenly. "He will want Ikari back…"

"Is he your friend?" Kyoko asked quietly, "Shinji, I mean."

Letting her arms hang loosely at her sides, Rei replied, "We do not… know each other well enough to use that term."

"Do you want him to be?"

"I am not sure."

"…do you hate me for taking him away from you?"

"No," Rei said levelly, "because eventually, you will return him."

"Oh?"

"Yes. The Commander will not allow him to remain within Unit 02's core."

Kyoko leaned against the bathroom doorframe, folding her arms under her breasts as she assessed the First Child. "You _do_ like him, don't you?" she mused. "Interesting. Well, Miss Ayanami, the future's never predictable, no matter what your Commander says… but for him to come back, I would need to get back into Unit 02 and let my ego borderline go. Do you think I'll do that for him, or your Commander?"

Rei met the woman's gaze. "I am not sure," she admitted, "but I believe that you might."

"Really now," Kyoko said quietly, "and why is that?"

Crouching down to pull on her socks, Rei whispered, "Because you know it is not right to force him to take your place."

"And you think I care about right and wrong after being stuck in that monster for seven years?"

"…yes."

Kyoko snorted disgustedly, pushing away from the doorframe and reaching back to unzip her dress. "Boy, are you a lousy judge of character. You want some breakfast?"

And with that, Rei knew the conversation was over.

( 0 0 0 )

"Let's start over," Ritsuko said tiredly. "Unit 02 is unstable why, again?"

Kyoko smiled. "It's fairly simple, actually," she explained indulgently. "The soul binding process is largely voluntary. You can't really _force_ a soul into an Evangelion… so when I, er, borrowed your pilot's genetic mass, he didn't really fully… stick to Unit 02."

Nodding to Asuka, Ritsuko said, "But she synchronized with him… how would that be possible if he wasn't in Unit 02's core?"

"You're not listening," Kyoko yawned, glancing around the room, "I said he's not _fully_ bound to Unit 02, meaning he's _in_ there… just not all the way. Where is Miss Ayanami this fine afternoon?"

Ritsuko grunted impatiently. "Probably doing something for the Commander," she said dismissively, "now please, explain to me how what you're saying is possible? Every protocol on paper says that once a soul is in a Unit, it's there to stay."

"Well clearly that's not correct," Kyoko snorted, reaching out and pinching Kaji on the arm. "See? Wouldn't be able to do that if I was in Unit 02… well I could, but it would hurt – a lot."

Rolling her eyes, Misato tossed her pen onto the conference room table. "Let's stop with all this bullshit," she said archly, "I strongly recommend that you give us some straight answers, Misses Souryu – my patience is wearing thin… I want Shinji out. Now."

Kyoko turned to Asuka. "She's feisty, liebchen," she pouted, "make her be nice."

Asuka simply looked away, rubbing at her tired eyes and trying to recall that happy feeling she had felt when leaving NERV the night before. Somehow, given time to reflect on everything that had happened, the happiness had turned dull and cold, leaving her feeling guilty for ever having reveled in her own freedom.

Reflection also gave her plenty of time to dwell on what, exactly, she felt for her mother…

"So is that how you got out?" Kaji asked lightly, flashing Kyoko a radiant smile as she turned her attention to him.

"No," the elder Soryu said brightly, "I was bound pretty tight."

"Excuse me for saying so," Ritsuko pointed out, "but I think that's a bit of a stretch, don't you? I mean… you _did_ think that a doll was your daughter… and you tried to kill your real daughter… and then you hung yourself – all after you were supposedly bound to Unit 02. Your body should have been broken apart. How is it that you were able to do those things?"

"Well she's mean too, liebchen!" Kyoko protested, "Everyone's against me." Seeing that her daughter was not to be drawn out, Kyoko sighed. "Fine, fine," she said gustily, "the truth of the matter is that I… I had some misgivings about the contact experiment. I couldn't quite surrender myself to the EVA… but as the experiment had gone too far, I could not quite return to my body. The end result of this… complicated equation was a state of separation. I could see my self moving around, talking, and acting like a lunatic… but I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"Then… how did you get into 02, then?" Maya ventured, feeling very out of her depth.

Kyoko shrugged. "It's not a pretty story," she said with mock weariness. "Essentially, when my soul was… loosened, shall we say, from my body – it drove me insane. I struggled for weeks to regain control of my body, but I never succeeded for more than a moment or two. Finally, I could not take it anymore, and the next time I gained control of my body… I…well… killed it." She tapped her fingers on the table as Maya gasped. "I knew I had to end it one way or another… but somehow, when I made contact with Unit 02, it created a resonance, or an attraction of some sort. So when I finally died, my soul was drawn into its core. Simple as tha-"

"I found you, you know…"

"What's that, liebchen?"

Asuka's head was down, but her voice was clear as she repeated, "I found you. I was coming to tell you I was a pilot, and that… that it was ok that Daddy left us, and I found you… just hanging there…"

"Did you?" Kyoko said, sounding only mildly surprised. "My… I must have been a mess, mustn't I?"

"I wanted to cut you down," Asuka whispered, "I wanted to save you… but I was too… too small…"

Kaji winced, the redhead's comments on the Over the Rainbow about being an adult hammering through his mind as he looked to the girl's mother.

He found her smiling reassuringly.

"But you were able to get past it," she said happily, "you always were such a strong little girl. Your father and I were so proud of you. Hey, Mister Kaji," she said suddenly, "remind me to tell you about the time Asuka decided she wanted to visit one of her friends down the road while I was taking a nap. I think the-"

"Stop talking like that!" Asuka shouted, knocking her chair back from the table and shooting to her feet. "Stop talking like you never left! Stop talking like you never tried to kill me! Stop talking like you give a damn about me – just _stop it!_"

There was a preternatural quiet in the conference room as everyone stared at the redhead. Expressions ranged from shocked to outright dazed, though embarrassment was the most prevalent. Asuka's past – especially with regards to her mother – had recently come into sharp focus for far more people than the redhead would have guessed, so there was no one at the table that did not know what she was screaming about.

Though had she known this, she may very well have curled up into a ball and sobbed. Her mother's near-murder of her in the depths of her insanity was the darkest part of Asuka's soul… the knowledge that it was becoming almost as well known as the 'God's in his Heaven' logo of NERV would most certainly have driven her to the edge of madness, if not beyond.

"Liebchen," Kyoko began awkwardly, all of her playfulness gone, "I only want-"

"You don't get to call me that!" Asuka cut in furiously. "I'm not your liebchen anymore – I live for me, do you understand? _Me_ – no one else! I don't need you! _I wish you never came back!_"

Unexpectedly, Maya burst into tears.

"I'm s-sorry," she sobbed as everyone stared at her incredulously, "she's… that's… I'm sorry…"

Ignoring the technician's blubbering, Kyoko put one hand on the table, staring at it rather than meeting her daughter's pain-filled eyes. "You shouldn't talk to your mother that way."

Asuka's fists slammed down on the conference table hard enough to rattle the coffee mugs from one end to the other. "_That's the best you can come up with?_" she shrieked. "_I still wake up feeling your hands around my throat and 'you shouldn't talk to your mother that way' is the best you can come up with?_"

"You don't know how hard it's been," Kyoko whispered, blinking as tears slowly began running from her eyes. "I've had to watch you grow from behind a wall of glass, unable to touch or truly feel-"

"I don't _care_ how hard it's been," Asuka cried, pounding the table again for emphasis, "You knew what you were getting into – you knew! I had to grow up alone for seven goddamn years, do you know what _that's_ like, you inconsiderate bitch? You knew what you were doing… you knew… and you left me without a second thought."

Slowly, Kyoko rose to her feet. Maya, who was sitting closest to her, shrank back, her tears forgotten as she distanced herself from the bad vibes radiating from the older woman. Keeping her eyes on her daughter, Kyoko raised her hand… and slapped the redhead across the face, making the younger girl stumble and nearly fall, cracking her elbows sharply on the edge of the table.

"Don't you _ever_… say that I acted without thinking," Kyoko said softly, her eyes burning into her daughter's as the younger woman righted herself. "I brought you into this world and held you when you cried… I fed you and kept you safe and happy as long as I could… and when the time came, I gave my life willingly to ensure you the promise of a better tomorrow. Hate me if you have to, God knows I deserve it, but don't you dare say I did it without thinking of you, because it was _all_ for you!"

Deafening silence descended as mother and daughter glared at one another, too caught up in their rage and pain to take notice of the others in the room. No one spoke, no one moved, no one dared breathe as the two practically hurled their wills together, each trying to gain the emotional upper hand and force the other to accept their point of view.

Ultimately, it was Asuka who looked away, nearly sobbing, "I hate you," as she bolted from the room, her fiery red hair streaming out behind her as she fought against her own feelings, all of her hatred for her mother transferring to herself as she realized that she had no idea who her mother really was… and that she no longer wanted to know.

As the door slowly closed, Kyoko dropped back into her seat. "Childish," she whispered hollowly, scrubbing at her face with both hands. "Childish…"

If she was referring to herself, or Asuka… no one in the room knew.

( 0 0 0 )

Tears blinding her, Asuka fled, racing through the halls of NERV as if being chased by all the demons of Hell, though she honestly had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she wanted to get away from everything – she _had_ to get away, or she was going to die. One more look into her mother's eyes, and her heart would simply stop beating.

Finally out of breath, she fell to her hands and knees, gasping raggedly as the coppery taste of blood rose in the back of her throat. _I want out,_ she thought desperately, _I just want out of this! What good is praise if it comes from HER? She's never going back into Unit 02, sorry Shinji, she's too goddamn selfish for…_

Asuka let the thought trail off, lifting her head to find, unsurprisingly perhaps, that she was in the EVA cages, directly in front of Unit 02.

"Can you hear me?" she croaked, wiping at her eyes as she sat back on her heels and stared up at the giant red machine. "Can you see me? You said they turn all the systems off at night, but it's the middle of the day. Does that mean you can use the sensors to see what's going on outside?"

Unit 02 remained motionless, but Asuka never looked away from its cowl, trying to picture Shinji's face.

_What a joke,_ she thought pitifully. _I only saw his face for like, a few hours… I barely knew him._

Glancing around to ensure that she was alone, Asuka rose to her feet. Like a drug addict filching from a friend, she crept over to the control console, keying in the sequence to insert the plug and hurrying over to the entry hatch. She kept her breathing even as she was loaded into Unit 02, brushing her eyes one last time to ensure that they were dry as the plug was flooded with LCL.

Shinji would understand… Shinji had to understand – he knew everything about her, now.

_Shinji,_ she thought as soon as the third stage connection was made, _I need you._

She gasped, her back arching up off the pilot's seat as another presence filled her, making her skin seem to dance on her bones… and this time, when Shinji spoke, it resonated in every cell in her body.

"I'm here."

_What's… happening…?_ Asuka thought, desperately holding onto her sense of self as torrents of foreign memories roared into her mind.

"I don't know," Shinji replied, "it's different… I… get out! Asuka, get out of Unit 02!"

Asuka's fingers stumbled blindly along the control panel, her vision doubling, and then tripling as she sought the ejection trigger.

"D-damn it," she cried, "can't… find it… ah!"

_Father… father don't leave me!_

In her mind, she saw Commander Ikari slowly walking away from her… and the memory was so vivid she could actually taste the tears and snot pouring freely down her childish face.

"That's… not me," she gasped, "I'm not… him. Shinji – help me!"

"I'm tr-"

Abruptly, everything went silent.

Asuka rocked forward in the seat, gasping for breath as Shinji's presence abruptly vanished. "Wh…at…?"

"Asuka!"

Shaking her head to clear it, Asuka felt the plug spinning out of Unit 02, purging its LCL in a violent burst as the entry hatch was torn open.

"_Asuka!_ Oh thank god!"

Her mother, looking flushed and winded, fell to her knees, throwing her arms around Asuka's chest and burying her face in the girl's shoulder.

"You stupid, stupid girl," she sobbed, "I told you it was unstable! God… when you ran off I never thought you'd come _here_! What were you thinking? You could have died! If Akagi hadn't mentioned that you were here earlier…" she trailed off, shaking from head to toe as she held her most precious creation, sobbing uncontrollably as the redhead simply stared, dumbfound, at the top of her head.

( 0 0 0 )

"What now, Ikari…?"

Gendou stared up at his ceiling, leaving Fuyutsuki's question unanswered for a moment as he contemplated the intricate nature of this new wrinkle. With Unit 02 unstable, and therefore unusable, his plans were in jeopardy.

This was not acceptable.

"Unit 01," he murmured, "have the pilot data reconfigured for Rei… and accelerate the repair schedule for 00."

Fuyutsuki cleared his throat. "Will that be sufficient?" he wondered doubtfully. "If we were attacked tomorrow…"

Gendou sighed as the question hung in the air. "Yui won't let us down," he said carefully. "She may be… temperamental, when it comes to who operates Unit 01, but in a crisis, she would allow Rei the honor – if grudgingly."

"I don't think she likes the taste of the First Child," Fuyutsuki snorted.

"Would you?"

"Yes, well… hopefully she will have her favorite back shortly."

Gendou's lips compressed into a thin line. "I do not believe in relying on hope," he said flatly. "I believe Misses Souryu needs a little encouragement to go back where she belongs."

"I doubt she'll be very cooperative," Fuyutsuki pointed out, "and before you say it, no, I wouldn't be either – but all of that aside, supposing we do 'convince' her to reenter the core, what's to stop her from pulling this again?"

"Easy," Gendou replied. "She was only able to exit the core when two pilots were present, and the synchronization ratio of the secondary spiked due to high pressure. The odds of this set of circumstances occurring again, I can assure you, are zero."

"…and if she finds another way out?"

Gendou's voice was cold and hard as he murmured, "She won't."

Nodding, Fuyutsuki murmured, "As you say."

He noticed as he took his leave, however, that the Commander jotted the word, 'Akagi' on the blotter next to his phone… and he took some comfort in knowing that as tough as the younger man seemed on the outside, he was still human enough to know uncertainty.

Continued…

Author's notes: Hopefully this chapter explained one viewpoint on how Kyoko managed to stick around after 'losing her soul' to Unit 02. It's never fully explained in the series, but it's fair to assume that the woman lost _something_ in the contact experiment mentioned in episode 22. The other explanations I've heard forwarded are 1- Kyoko lost her soul entirely during the experiment and was just a functional shell, which doesn't hold water for me, cuz she would have ended up as primordial soup, like Yui. 2- her soul was removed after she hung herself, which is a bit more likely than theory 1, but doesn't explain her nuttiness and affection for button-eyed dolls. 3- ok, I don't have a 3, I just thought only having two theories was uneven…

No pre-reader this time.

Feedback is always welcome at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.


	5. Commiserating with Nero

Disclaimer – see chapter 1.

Homecoming

Part 5 – Commiserating with Nero

By Random1377

Misato folded her arms on the table and rested her head in the crook of one elbow. "I'm getting sick of this room," she muttered, letting her eyes slip closed for a moment as she yawned into her armpit. "The next time we have an earthshaking catastrophe, can we discuss its ominous ramifications at my place? Or maybe like, a Denny's?"

"All you need is to feel like you're at home to be productive and shut up?" Ritsuko mumbled, keeping her eyes on the scattered mound of paperwork in front of her and tapping a few lines into her laptop. "Should I have some beer brought in for you?"

"Can you?" Misato asked, raising her head hopefully.

"No."

"Oh… thought not." She lowered her head once more. "Then how about taking my gun and shooting me? We've been in here for seven hours – if I don't do something soon, I'm going to go crazy."

Ritsuko's lips thinned as she glanced towards Kyoko. "If you really want to be helpful, get her to stop pining and help me out."

Refusing to look away from the ceiling, Kyoko whispered, "It's not pining, Akagi – pining is for when you get dumped by a lover… I'm mourning."

No one asked what she was mourning.

One look across the room at where the woman's daughter lay sleeping on the conference room couch, and knowing even half of their shouted conversation earlier in the day, would be explanation enough.

_What a selfish tramp,_ Misato thought bitterly, idly turning Shinji's SDAT (which had been found on board the Over the Rainbow) in lazy circles on the tabletop. _Your daughter hates your guts, and I can't say I blame her… I mean after all, I…_

Misato let the thought trail off, shoving the SDAT disgustedly down the table as thoughts of Kyoko and Asuka led to thoughts of her own father and their damaged, dysfunctional relationship.

And in her current mood, these were not thoughts she felt like dwelling on.

The SDAT skittered across the table, coming to an abrupt halt as Kyoko put her hand in front of it. "Temper, temper, Captain," she scolded. "You wouldn't want to break this, now would you?"

"Cram it, Souryu," Misato grumbled, "the only reason I'm not shoving you in Unit 02 right now is because I know it won't do any good." Turning to Ritsuko, she demanded, "Tell me again why we can't just knock her out and stuff her in there? Won't Shinji just take his body back?"

Ritsuko looked up irritably. "What part of 'voluntary borderline breach' is unclear to you? Are you not getting the voluntary part?"

"But Shinji didn't give his up voluntarily."

Kyoko spoke before Ritsuko could rebut this.

"Actually… he did."

"Come again?"

Everyone stared at the elder Souryu as she turned Shinji's SDAT over and over in her hands. "When his sync ratio spiked," she explained, "I only had a few seconds worth of time… but you'd be amazed how much information can travel from one consciousness to another in such a short window. I couldn't use words, so I… projected feelings of warmth and comfort, getting him curious enough – on a subconscious level – to loosen his ego border enough to-"

"You _tricked_ him!" Misato exploded, looking as if she desperately wanted to shoot the woman dead. "Ritsuko," she hissed, "you're in charge – I can't be here right now… or they'll be burying her again by the time I get done with her."

As she rose to her feet, however, a smooth voice ordered, "Stand down, Captain…"

"Kouzou?" Kyoko said, shaking off her lethargy and getting quickly to her feet as Misato bit her tongue and dropped back into her seat. "Wow, are you a sight for sore eyes! I thought for sure you would have gotten out of this nuthatch by now."

The sub-commander extended his arm, giving the woman a firm handshake. "Souryu," he said calmly, "it's… interesting to see you again."

Kyoko grinned. "Can't break out of that teacher mould, can you old timer?"

Fuyutsuki coughed into his fist. "Some habits die harder than others," he said, smiling faintly as he gestured to Kyoko's seat, "Please…"

Sitting back down, Kyoko looked Fuyutsuki up and down. "Man," she marveled, "you haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"My ideals, no," Fuyutsuki replied casually, "though I have had this little pain in my neck for a day or two."

"Mmm can't help with that," Kyoko said sadly, "not a medical doctor, you know."

Fuyutsuki picked up a coffee mug, glancing into it briefly as he murmured, "I think you can help me with this pain, Souryu."

Kyoko's smile grew fixed. "Ah," she said, shifting in her seat as the sub-commander set her mug back down, "guess I should have guessed that this wasn't a casual visit, eh?"

"Indeed."

"Can I ask one thing?"

"Hmm?"

The woman smiled wolfishly as she said, "Can you call me an inconvenience instead of a pain? For old time's sake?"

"Ever the jester," Fuyutsuki mused, looking around the conference room at the gathered NERV employees. "Must we continue this… debacle, Kyoko? All these hardworking people slaving away to find a solution to a problem only you can rectify seems… wasteful."

Kyoko shrugged. "They all know the remedy," she said lightly, "they're the ones spinning their wheels trying to find alternatives, not me. I just wanted a little break."

"And now you've had it."

Turning her eyes to Asuka, Kyoko whispered, "There are still some matters I have to take care of, Kouzou."

Fuyutsuki sighed. "I'm afraid I don't have time to let you play around anymore, Kyoko," he said, sounding truly regretful. "You and I both know that your immediate reentrance into Unit 02 is crucial to the survival of our race. Why are you drawing this out? An angel could come at any time."

"I told you," Kyoko said quietly, "I have…" Abruptly, she leaned over, lowering her voice for the sub-commander's ears alone. "You owe me this time, Kouzou," she whispered fiercely, "there wouldn't _be_ an Evangelion program if it wasn't for me!"

"That's… quite an exaggeration," Fuyutsuki said mildly, "admittedly, you _did_ contribute greatly to the completion of Units 00 and 02, but the work would have been completed one way or another, and time, I'm afraid, is no longer on your side. The MAGI computers are reporting erratic, orange pattern activity within Unit 02's core. Now, can you – being so knowledgeable on the EVAs – tell me what, exactly, that might mean?"

Kyoko slumped back in her seat, scratching the back of her neck as she mumbled, "Partial remanifestation… temporal breaches in core containment… de-unionization of the host body and the geist."

"Leading to…?"

A gasp rose from the others in the room as Kyoko whispered, "Eventual geist leakage and, ultimately… total loss."

"Mm," Fuyutsuki grunted, "And tell me… do you feel that young Ikari deserves to lose first his body, then his soul, so you can have the opportunity to go out drinking with the First Child and mope for hours on end because the daughter you abandoned – for good reasons, admittedly – wants nothing to do with you?"

Standing abruptly, Kyoko brushed past the man. "I don't have to listen to this crap," she said flatly, "I served my time in that monster." Yanking the door open, she hesitated. "Look, I'm sorry about the kid, I really am… but there's too much for me to set straight for me to get stuck back in there."

"Sir?" Misato said as the woman made her exit. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Denied," Fuyutsuki said flatly. "I can already guess at anything you might have to say, Captain, and I assure you, I am not in the mood." Turning to Ritsuko, he said, "Based on the MAGI data… how long does Ikari have?"

"Before full bleedout?" Ritsuko sighed. "Fifteen hours. Twenty, if he fights with all he's got."

"So… fifteen," Fuyutsuki mused, "Well, that will-"

Abruptly, Misato slammed her fist down on the table. "He is _not_ weak," she said dangerously, "if twenty is the limit, he'll make it to twenty-five, damn it! That boy-"

"Relax, Captain," Fuyutsuki said, rising to his feet and straightening his jacket. "Please excuse my levity, it was misplaced and inappropriate. Doctor Akagi… set us a twenty-five hour timer."

Before anyone could say anything else, he turned on his heel and left without a backward glance.

( 0 0 0 )

Rei entered the EVA cages as quietly as she could, not out of any desire to keep her presence secret, but because she had always been taught to respect the power of the behemoths bound by the flimsy restraints devised by man… as if anything manmade could contain the might of a being as powerful as an angel.

She began making her way towards the repair bay, where Unit 00 still languished after the disastrous fight with the fifth angel. They had won the day, and she had protected Ikari as she said she would, but the damage to her mecha had been monumental. While reconstruction was going quite well, the Commander had instructed her to visit the unit every day to keep her familiar with the Unit… or rather, to keep the Unit familiar with her.

Sound advice, considering her previous difficulties with the machine.

Moving through the cages, however, she was surprised to find the space in front of Unit 02 occupied by a lone figure. _Who is that? It looks like… ah… Misses Souryu…_

Keeping her tread light, the First began walking past the older woman, not wanted to disturb whatever reverie she was caught up in.

"Hello, Miss Ayanami."

Rei came up short. "Hello, Misses Souryu."

"How are you?"

"No different than when we parted ways this morning," Rei said politely, "and yourself?"

Kyoko shrugged. "Still alive," she said quietly, "which is, if I do say so myself, pretty impressive." Glancing over her shoulder, she said, "Come over here and talk to me for a minute?"

Rei glanced at her watch. Though there was no real timetable for her visits to Unit 00, she liked to keep them within a certain range, reasoning that the Unit would respond better to consistency than randomness.

"Alright…"

She walked to Kyoko's side, following her gaze up to Unit 02's quadoptic face.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" the older woman whispered. "'Man's triumph over God,' is what they used to call it back at Gehrin – some people even talked about making that our logo… though I guess they decided on that Browning poem when NERV came around." Her expression darkened. "I'll bet that was your Commander's idea."

There was something liberating, Rei decided, about being with someone that knew her true origins. She did not have to watch what she said, and considering that the woman standing next to her knew more of NERV and the EVAs than she did, there were very few secrets outside of Commander Ikari's specific machinations for her to concern herself with hiding.

While this did not change her personality, it did help her relax a bit, loosening her tongue to the point that she felt comfortable saying, "It would not surprise me… he is fond of poetry."

Kyoko sighed. "You look up to him, don't you?" she mused. "I can't say I blame you… he's probably raised you from the day you were released from the tank. Which reminds me," she said suddenly, "there aren't… others like you, are there? When we were first working on the project, there was talk of canceling it, even up front, because of risks like memory loss and physical breakdown over time. Did they overcome those?"

"No," Rei said quietly, "they did not. During… release, there is a danger of short-term memory loss, and I am required to take several medications on a daily basis to keep my body healthy." She hesitated a moment before concluding, "I am the only one."

"Does it make you feel unique or special?" Kyoko wondered.

Rei shook her head. "Not particularly," she said evenly. "I do not enjoy thinking for myself, if I can avoid it, and I know, someday, my time will end, so I do not see the purpose in creating unique memories that will only vanish when I am gone."

Kyoko laughed softly. "You poor thing," she said sadly. "Everyone dies eventually… creating memories is a way of enjoying the time you _are_ given. I'll wager that your Commander holds his memories very, very tight…"

"Perhaps," Rei said quietly, "but my time is much more finite."

Shrugging, Kyoko retorted, "All the more reason to make it precious."

To this, Rei said nothing. It was not an argument she wanted to partake in just then – or ever, quite honestly… not when she knew her lifespan would most likely reach a ceiling of eight years.

Or less, considering how fast the angels were coming then.

Glancing down, she noticed that Kyoko was clutching something loosely in her right hand. "That is… Ikari's, correct?"

Hefting the SDAT, Kyoko nodded. "Here," she said softly, holding the item out to Rei, "I wanted to see what he listened to. Give it back to him for me, ok?"

Rei accepted the SDAT carefully. "I will," she promised, "when he returns."

"Thank you…"

They lapsed into silence as Rei slipped the player into her jumper's pocket and Kyoko continued staring up at Unit 02. After several moments, Rei bowed and turned to take her leave.

"Do you know who Nero was?"

Pursing her lips, Rei thought back over her history lessens before replying, "He… fiddled as Rome burned, correct?"

"That's the old saying," Kyoko nodded, "but do you know the root of it?"

"No, I do not."

Never looking away from Unit 02, Kyoko said, "In about 64 AD, there was a horrible fire in Rome… it gutted most of the city, forcing Nero, who was Emperor at the time, to rebuild. Some years later, it was suggested that Nero had the fire set himself, fiddling with glee as the city burned because it gave him the opportunity to rebuild it the way he wanted – a preposterous idea, considering that the fiddle wasn't even invented until the 1500s… though the underlying accusation that he was the one that ordered the fire started is impossible to prove or disprove…"

As the woman trailed off, Rei digested the information she had been given.

Before she could say anything, though, Kyoko went on. "I understand the desire to tear something you don't like down and remake it in your own image," she said quietly, "but humans aren't buildings, Miss Ayanami… do you understand? I've had seven years of quietude and isolation to ponder the idea of Human Complementation, and the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that forcing the entire species towards the same conclusion, even if we are a 'colony of worthlessness,' or whatever those old bastards at SEELE called us, is wrong – so wrong it's almost… almost as if we're trying to harness demons instead of angels."

Rei studied the woman's profile. "It will mean the eradication of loneliness and isolation, Misses Souryu," she pointed out, "it-"

"But at what cost?" Kyoko cut in, turning to face the First and holding her arms out to the sides, "What if I don't want to share all that I am with everyone else? What if I'm happier being me – shouldn't I be given the choice of whether or not I'm part of the 'collective'? Forcing others into things, Miss Ayanami, is what the preachers in the old pre-impact churches used to call The Devil's Way. Now I'm not overly religious, but I agree that making others do what they don't want to is wrong."

"I dislike conversations of this nature," Rei said coolly, "but I think I should point out that as a mother, you yourself have forced your child to do things she did not want to do, correct?"

Kyoko's eyes were sparkling as she leaned over the First and said, "I _guided_ her, Miss Ayanami… in the end, if she did not want to do something, she would not have to. Yes, the unseen threat of parenthood is the withdrawal of food, shelter, and affection – but the _choice _is always there. Can you understand the distinction? I led my child as best I could, but I never _forced_ her into anything."

Rei averted her eyes. "Your definition of force is ambiguous," she observed, "but I… admit that you raise interesting questions. I must ask you to excuse me, though," she said, bowing slightly, "I have duties I must fulfill…"

"Of course," Kyoko said, feeling suddenly very foolish for trying to bring a seven-year-old clone around to her point of view.

_As if she has any influence over any of this…_

Had Kyoko known the _real _truth of Rei's nature… she might have spent a few more minutes trying to change the First's mind.

( 0 0 0 )

Asuka woke feeling dry and shriveled up. Her tongue felt particularly sandy, sticking to the roof of her mouth like long-dried glue and reminding her of the practice sessions she had endured when she had pursued an idle ambition to be an operatic singer.

It had not panned out well for her.

"Herr Wagner would just scream if he saw me sleeping on my back," she croaked to herself, sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she glanced around the darkened conference room, hoping to find a bottle of water, "Lord I hated that man." She lowered her voice to a guttural growl – an easy feat, considering how dehydrated she felt, and rumbled, "You vill ruin your vocal chords, Frau Langley! Alvays sleep on your stom-"

She broke off into a coughing fit as her throat protested the rough treatment.

_What time is it, anyway?_ she wondered, noticing that Maya – most likely left to watch her – was asleep in the chair at the far end of the room, snoring lightly as her head lolled to one side. _Heh__… Herr Wagner would have eaten you alive, Lieutenant._

Keeping her mind occupied with her hunt for water, Asuka started for the door, casting around for something to cover Maya with before giving up and exiting the conference room to make her way through the quiet corridors towards the lunchroom. Reaching it, she gratefully fell on the water fountain, greedily sucking up what felt like half of the Tokyo-3 reservoir before pulling away with a grateful sigh.

"Now," she said, pleased to find her voice back to normal, "a little snack."

She walked up to one of the vending machines, but a wave of horror washed over her as she realized that she had never changed out of her plugsuit, and as plugsuits had no pockets… she had no money.

"Shiest," she muttered, banging her head on the heavy glass plate on the front of the vending machine and pretending that her mouth was not watering.

"Tsk," a voice behind her murmured. "What would your mother say if she heard that?"

Asuka whirled around. "Kaji!" she cried, happy that it was not Misato or that frosty Akagi woman… or, worst of all, her mother.

"Hungry, liebchen?" Kaji asked brightly.

The smile that had blossomed on Asuka's face withered and died in a matter of nanoseconds. "Don't call me that, please," she said coolly, barely reminding herself that this _was _the object of her affections before snapping his head off.

Kaji grinned, reaching into his pocket and rattling a handful of change. "Will a sandwich and a bag of chips buy me forgiveness?"

"It's a good down payment," Asuka said, covering her stomach discreetly as the mere mention of food made it rumble violently. "Roast beef and cheddar, please… and umm, if you throw in a Pepsi, I might just forget this conversation ever took place."

"No diet soda for you, huh?" Kaji said as he pulled out his coins.

"Are you implying something?"

Kaji laughed, watching the girl's hungry eyes as he pushed the buttons to order the plastic wrapped sandwich. "No, no," he said quickly, "it's just that so many girls your age are self-conscious… and soda's not all that great for you anyway, so…"

Asuka shrugged as he trailed off, too fixed on the food to really keep track of what he was saying. "Thanks," she said, nearly diving through the vending machine's slot to snatch the sandwich up.

"Heard you had a bit of a rough sync," Kaji said quietly, slipping more coins into the machine as Asuka froze with the sandwich halfway to her mouth.

Shaking herself, Asuka ripped off a large bite of her beef and cheddar, barely chewing before swallowing it down. "Yeah," she coughed, pounding her chest as the lump of meat and bread caught in her throat, "no big deal…"

Handing her a can, Kaji replied, "Must have been at least a medium deal… you've been out for fifteen hours."

"Fifteen _hours?_" Asuka cried, nearly dropping her sandwich as she realized why it was so quiet.

"Yeah," Kaji said, leaning against the vending machine as he went on. "Your mother's in the cages with Ritsuko and Misato… she said she has a few ideas for stabilizing Unit 02."

"Stabilizing it?"

Kaji bit his lip. "That's right," he said quietly, "you were asleep for that conversation…"

As quickly as he could, Kaji outlined the details of Shinji's current situation… subtly leaving out the fact that he had gathered this information by bugging the conference room earlier in the day.

Better to have information and need it, than need it and not have it, he figured.

"So he's slipping," Asuka murmured thoughtfully, lifting the sandwich to her lips… but forgetting to bite it. "Yeah, that's kind of what it felt like when I synced – like he was slipping into me." She blushed, suddenly realizing how this comment sounded, but when she looked up to gauge Kaji's response, the man was deep in thought.

"What do you think of him now?"

Asuka blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Of Shinji," Kaji needlessly clarified. "When you first met him, you were pretty open about thinking he was a loser… what do you think of him now?"

"Someone… my mother explained syncing to you, didn't she?" Asuka said slowly. When Kaji nodded, the redhead bowed her head. "I don't think she could do it justice with words, Kaji," she whispered quietly, "for one thing, when she was in Unit 02 – I never felt her, I just synced. Since Shinji's, well, not – bound, I guess – I can… feel more of him."

"And…?"

"Don't make me say it."

Kaji frowned. "Don't make you say what?"

Carefully wrapping the remains of her sandwich, Asuka said, "Don't make me say how it feels to have another soul pushing inside of your mind. I know it's not his fault, but when I synched, it… it was like Shinji was raping my mind, ok? I felt… violated – like I'd lost something I can never get back. I promised I'd help get him out, Kaji, but as God is my witness, I have no idea what I can possibly say to him when he's finally free."

Normally armed with witty replies and clever jokes, Kaji found himself shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"I'm sorry…"

Asuka managed a ghost of a smile. "You didn't know," she said simply, "there's no way you could have, and, in a way… I'm glad you found out."

"Oh?" Kaji said, "Why's that?"

Averting her eyes, Asuka whispered, "Because I'm tired of being the one that always has to be str-"

Both of them nearly jumped out of their skin as the overhead system announced, "All EVA pilots, all EVA pilots, please report to the Command center for immediate debriefing – this is not a drill! All EVA pilots, all EVA…"

As the message began repeating itself, Asuka met Kaji's eyes… and the depths of the helplessness he saw in them nearly brought the man to his knees.

To be Concluded…

Author's notes: I can't think of anything to note here except – one more chapter to go! Whee!

I didn't have a pre-reader on this chapter.

Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.


	6. Fortress

Disclaimer – see chapter 1.

Homecoming

Part 6 – Fortress

By Random1377

Kyoko burst onto the command deck with all the drama of a stage actress making her grand entrance, though the reason for her hast was anything but a need for attention. The EVA cages were not terribly far from the bridge, but she had covered the distance in what she was sure was record time, clutching her side as a nasty stitch of pain ran from her lower ribs up to her armpit.

"What's… happening?" she gasped, trying to regain her breath as Ritsuko gave her a cursory glance.

As if answering her, Aoba said, "Pattern blue confirmed, Doctor Akagi… it's definitely an angel."

Misato brushed past Kyoko a moment later, completely ignoring the elder Souryu as Kaji and Asuka followed her in. "Status update," she called, impressing Kyoko with her smooth, no-nonsense attitude.

This was her show, Kyoko realized. Previous joking and flippant persona aside, she was now staring at a warrior preparing for combat.

Too bad she was unarmed.

"Status?" Ritsuko echoed incredulously. "Does it matter? We've got three non-functional Evangelions, some N2 mines we can't use due to the angel's proximity, and a handful of autocannnons that haven't so much as scratched any of the previous angels. You want a status update? We're in deep sh-"

"Set the autocannons for full fire," Misato cut in, clearly in no mood for the other woman's attitude. "Where's Rei? I want her ready to launch in Unit 01 in five minutes. Just because we haven't been able to launch it with anyone but Shinji doesn't mean we _can't_ launch it with anyone but Shinji, right?"

Ritsuko looked dubious. "The plug's been reprogrammed with her personal data," she said, "but it's always been an oh-nine system. The chances that Rei can sync are-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Misato cut in dismissively, "you've explained the whole oni idea before, but I'm short on options. Asuka," she turned to the Second Child, "I want you down in the cages too… if _everything_ goes wrong, you'll try syncing with Unit 01 too. If that fails – you'll launch in 02, understood?"

"You can't send her in 02," Kyoko said sharply, "I won't allow it."

Misato's eyebrows rose. "I'm sorry?" she said coolly, "_you_ won't _allow_ it?"

Kyoko bristled visibly. "Asuka can't pilot Unit 02," she said tersely, "have you been listening to what I've been saying? The last time she synced, Shinji nearly shattered her ego boundary – and that was nearly sixteen hours ago. If she goes in now, she'll be disincorporated in seconds."

"Theoretically," Misato countered. "You're not sure, though… and if you're so worried about it, why don't you just hop back in and set things straight?"

Looking pained, Kyoko muttered, "I can't, now… it takes time. Even if I got back into the plug, Shinji wouldn't be able to reform his body for at least-"

"You know what?" Misato interrupted, "Why don't you just shut up? I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Souryu, so closer your mouth and get off my bri-"

"I can pilot."

"Come again?"

"I said I can pilot," Kyoko repeated desperately, "I can pilot Unit 01."

Misato was only silent for a moment. "No adults can pilot," she said levelly, folding her arms under her breasts and staring the other woman down. "It's impossible."

"Captain Katsuragi is correct," Gendou boomed from the command dais, "the EVAs have no sympathy with adults… or don't you remember the batch of tests we ran with the adult volunteers?"

"I remember," Kyoko said grimly, "I can still hear the screams if I listen hard enough – but Unit 01 is different… and I'm different. Yui and I-"

"_Don't_… say her name," Gendou cut in coldly. "You act like you were the best of friends… but I don't recall having you over for dinner, Souryu, or hearing the phrase, 'I'm going out with Kyoko tonight.' I think your time in Unit 02 has altered your view of reality. I would no more let you near Unit 01 than go out there and try to establish negotiations with that angel… so do us all a favor and shut… up."

Kyoko's jaw clenched, and she glanced at Asuka, her shoulders slumping in defeat as she found her daughter looking at her with undisguised contempt. "Et tu, liebchen?" she whispered, "we-"

"I told you not to call me that."

"Ahh that's right," Kyoko sighed, straightening her back as the door to the command center slid open and Rei stepped in, "you're all grown up now… you live for yourself and no one else. I'm very proud of that, you know…"

Asuka opened her mouth to let her mother know exactly what she could do with her pride, but before she could speak, something strange happened – and it happened so fast that no one on the bridge saw it coming.

As Rei came abreast of Kyoko, the elder Souryu smiled, patting her affectionately on the shoulder… but as the First took another step, Kyoko swung around, sliding her left arm neatly around the blue-haired girl's throat and pressing the palm of her right hand to the side of Rei's head, forcing her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Clear me a path to the cages," Kyoko said softly, "or so help me God, I will snap her neck like a toothpick."

To emphasize her point, she pushed Rei's head slightly to the side, causing the pilot to draw a sharp breath of pain through her nose, though in her defense, this was her only concession to her current predicament.

"Don't try my patience," Gendou said dismissively, "release her, or you'll be-"

"I mean it," Kyoko cut in sharply, her nostrils flaring with rage as she edged Rei's neck further towards the breaking point, "I know the release times, _Rokubungi_… and if I so much as _smell_ one of your Section Two goons on my case between here and there, she'll be dead before you can say 'only viable pilot.'"

An arctic chill fell over the hushed crowd, the reports of the angel's progress going unheeded as everyone waited to see what the outcome of the confrontation would be. Finally, Gendou raised his right hand… and two Section Two agents slowly rose from the shadows, clad in black from head to toe and holding long, silenced pistols on the woman and her captive – pistols, Misato knew immediately, that had been leveled the second the First had been taken.

_Christ,_ she thought, shivering as she stared into one of the agent's hard, killer's eyes, _one twitch – one hesitation in her hold on Rei's neck… and she would have been dead – or at least tazed, I can't tell if they have other weapons…_

"This is pointless," Gendou muttered, not bothering to hide his contempt, "Rei is the only pilot we have… are you going to throw away the entire Human Race for your pitiful sense of pride?"

Kyoko smiled as she backed toward the door. "Hey Mister Kaji," she called nonchalantly, ignoring the Commander's comments. "I have a confession for you."

"Oh?" the man said, arching an eyebrow, "And what is that, Misses Souryu?"

Kyoko's smile widened.

"…I just had to tell you that I lied to you when we first met – you make a shitty cup of coffee."

In spite of the tension on the deck, Kaji laughed out loud, shaking his head in wonder as the woman slipped out of the door with Rei still held firmly in her arms.

( 0 0 0 )

The silence on the bridge lasted until the door slid shut… and then all hell broke loose. "How close is the angel?" Misato demanded, whirling to face the technicians. "Well? What are you all, pedestrians staring at a car crash? We're in a combat situation! We have a base to protect! See if we can slow the angel down – cannons, mines, tanks, throw everything we have, buy us some time. Ritsuko!"

"Huh?"

"How close is Unit 00 to operational readiness?"

Pulling her eyes away from the door, Ritsuko shook her head. "Er, weeks," she murmured, trying to calculate every angle at once, "ten days at the very least – if we worked on nothing else."

Taking a deep breath, Misato said, "Two questions – first… will it move?"

"Well, yes, it will _move_," Ritsuko said, emphasizing the word heavily, "but the armor plates are undergoing an overhaul, and its shoulder joints are only at forty percent efficiency. In a fight it would get torn to shreds."

"But it _would_ be able to fight."

"I wouldn't risk-"

"I don't care what you would and wouldn't do," Misato cut in sharply, "it will move, that's all I need to know. Asuka… go to the EVA cages and prepare to launch in Unit 00. Asuka – stop daydreaming!"

Blinking, Asuka nodded. "R-right," she muttered, making her way slowly towards the door as Kaji trailed surreptitiously behind.

"You're insane," Ritsuko breathed. "We don't even know if Unit 00 will move for her – and even if it did, her sync ratio would be a joke! You're sending her out to die."

Ignoring this insight, Misato said, "Second question – what is the percentage chance that a direct strike with a nuclear warhead would destroy the angel?"

Sighing tiredly, Ritsuko said, "All historic evidence shows that Non-nuclear weaponry barely slow the angels down. An N2 warhead wouldn't-"

"I didn't say _non_ nuclear…"

All conversation on the bridge ceased as word of Misato's question spread like wildfire. Faces paled as they turned towards the captain, and even the whispers of, 'Is she serious?' and 'Nuclear? Did she say she wants to use a _nuke_?' faded away as the operations director continued to stare Ritsuko directly in the eye.

"…you're insane."

"I asked you a question, Doctor, now-"

"A direct hit with a nuclear warhead would destroy the angel," Ritsuko said softly, "as would a concentrated detonation of four to five non-nuclear mines, provided the timing was right. I don't really need to tell you, however, that us being at ground zero… well…"

"You are being reckless, Captain," Gendou said, finally breaking his silence, "send Souryu in Unit 00 to buy us some time, and we will arrange to have the First Child available to pilot 01."

"But your heard that loony, Commander," Misato pointed out, "she wasn't kidding – it was in her eyes… she'll kill Rei before she lets anyone get in her way. Even if you drug her or hit her with a tazer, she'd still have enough time to break Rei's neck! She has all the cards."

Rising to his feet, Gendou murmured, "Mind the bridge, Captain… I will deal with this situation. Oh, and while I'm gone…" he gazed at Misato over the tops of his tinted glasses for a moment, "please don't kill us all. I have too much unfinished business to vanish now."

As the Commander stepped onto the small elevator located by the command dais, Ritsuko shook her head. "Some strategist," she snorted, "sure, great plan, Misato – nuke us all into oblivion…"

"I don't see anyone else coming up with any bright ideas," Misato hissed dangerously. "If we only had more pilots!"

"Well, we'll see what we can do," Ritsuko muttered to herself.

"What was that?"

Ritsuko walked over to Maya's terminal. "Nothing, Captain," she said evenly, shooing the tech out of the spot and logging into the MAGI to do a search of potential pilots, "you worry about your job… I'll worry about mine…"

"Oh, I will…"

The two women began to plot their strategies, both with the same goal in mind, though their means were far, far different.

Ritsuko, with full knowledge of the Marduk Report's falsehood, scanned the list of pilot candidates currently in the Tokyo-3 area, narrowing the list down to a handful and noting their locations in case she had to have Section Two round them up and bring them in for immediate recruitment – like Shinji, only even more accelerated.

Misato, on the other hand, simply kept track of the time, listed the options she knew of… and calculated how fast she could issue a nuclear attack order in case it became necessary to bring the JSSDF's last resort weapon down on them to wipe the angel out.

_One way or another_, both women thought almost simultaneously, _We__ will win…_

( 0 0 0 )

Though she had left the command deck in a daze, Asuka was running flat out by the time she neared the EVA cages, ignoring Kaji's repeated warnings that if they did not slow down, they would be sentencing Rei to a rather grisly end.

Asuka did not care. All that mattered was seeing her mother.

_Mama,_ she thought, taking a corner so fast she nearly slammed herself into the wall, _Mama,__ I have to see you… I have to, because I know after this, it will be too late…_

Asuka was not sure how she knew this, past simple intuition, but she felt certain that if she did not get to her mother fast, she would never see her face again.

Rounding the last corner, Asuka came up short, frowning as a crowd of technicians and support personnel cluttered the corridor. "All of you move," she heard her mother's hard, commanding voice order, "do I _look_ like I'm kidding, sir? Out!"

Forcing her way through the crowd, Asuka soon found herself near the door. On the other side, her mother was still holding Rei, her deep blue eyes glaring coldly at what must have been the last technician. Behind her, the EVA cages were eerily silent and still, sending a shiver down Asuka's spine as a lone thought traveled through her mind.

_It's like a graveyard._

Shaking off this observation, she shoved a tech aside and shouted, "_Mother!_"

The murmuring died out as the wide-eyed crowd parted, allowing Asuka a straight path to her mother. Feeling like she was walking through a gauntlet, Asuka slowly marched down the hall, clenching her hands into fists as she focused on her ultimate goal.

"That's close enough, liebchen," Kyoko said gently, "there's nothing for you in here…"

Asuka's jaw set in determination. "I'm a pilot, mother," she whispered, taking another step closer, "that room is the only place I belong."

"There's nothing for you here," Kyoko repeated. "Unit 02 would destroy you… and Unit 01 would not accept you. Go to the command deck, liebchen… Mama will make this all better…"

"You can't," Asuka said, trying to decide if she was worried that her mother was leaving, or hopeful that the woman may actually be harmed if she should try to pilot. Her emotions were so confused she barely knew which way was up, but she knew one thing for sure – she had to get to the cages… she had to pilot.

Licking her lips, she whispered, "I'll be in Unit 00, mother… Misato-"

"00?" Kyoko cut in, shaking her head ruefully, "Oh, I think not, liebchen… she's a wild child, that one – she would eat you up like the wolf ate Little Red Riding Hood. No, my dear, it must be me… it must be Unit 01… and there's no more time to discuss it."

"She won't start for you."

"Ahh Rokubungi," Kyoko said dryly, "I was wondering if I'd see you here."

Gendou's face was flushed with rage as he strode up next to Asuka. "It's Ikari," he nearly spat. "How did you seal my elevator?"

Kyoko looked very pleased with herself. "It's a secret," she said lightly, "just between Naoko and me. See, she told me a few… shortcuts for the MAGI, so on the way here, I stopped by a terminal and took the liberty of closing the EVA cages to all access except for this door."

"Impossible!" Gendou snapped, "You don't have that kind of authorization – you never did!"

"Naoko did," Kyoko practically sang, "really, Rokubungi, you should clear out your old file systems… though the coding Naoko did on her back doors was so deep I doubt even she would be able to remove them without a few weeks to go hunting – she was always very thorough, especially when it came to deception… though I doubt I need to tell you that, now do I loverbo-"

"Enough!" Gendou roared, slamming his fist into the wall at his side and making Asuka jump. "You have been a thorn in my side far too long, Souryu," he grated. "Step aside and let the Second Child into the cages, or you're dooming us all."

Kyoko sighed. "Such a shame," she mused, "you were always such a bright man… until Yui was gone – and then you fell to pieces. You used to understand the AT field, Rokubungi… have you forgotten everything your wife taught you? I'd explain all the reasons I can pilot to you, but I simply don't have the time right now, so… good day."

"Mother!"

Turning to her daughter, Kyoko whispered, "Behave, liebchen… Mama's got to work now."

Before Asuka could reply, Kyoko stepped back, clearing the doorframe.

"MAGI," she said clearly, "confirm control override for user Akagi, Naoko, access code delta, four, sigma, charley, five, eight, oh, oh, seven. Parameters – full lockdown on section A-6… zero access until authorized vocal release." Smiling at Asuka, she said, "Until next we meet, my darling… and as for you," she winked at Gendou, "you were never good enough for her. You'll always be Rokubungi no matter how hard you try."

Gendou's lips drew back from his teeth, but as he started forward, a huge bulkhead slammed down between him and Kyoko, sealing the EVA cages as a soft, feminine tone announced, "Authorized user vocal tone confirmed – locking down section A-6 until further notification. Thank you for your input, Doctor Souryu – have a nice day."

Asuka fell to her knees as Gendou pounded ineffectually on the bulkhead.

"Mother," she whispered, barely even noticing as Kaji – completely forgotten in her haste – slid his hands under her armpits and boosted her gently to her feet. "Mother, wait…"

"Shh…" Kaji said soothingly, leading the girl through the assembled technicians as Gendou ordered someone to bring in a laser cutter. "Easy… easy, Asuka…"

"Again…"

"Huh?"

"…she left me again," Asuka whispered, "why does everyone always leave me?"

Kaji put an arm around her waist, partially supporting her as her legs threatened to buckle. "Let's get you back to the command center so we can watch what happens," he said quietly, "or do you want to go somewhere else?"

Slowly lifting her head, Asuka barely whispered, "You won't leave me… right?"

Keeping his eyes straight ahead, Kaji simply repeated, "Let's get you back to the command center…"

He wanted to lie to her, he really did… but after all she had suffered, he felt that it would be unfair to her to raise her hopes again, only to have them dashed when he inevitably left NERV in the dead of night. His mission _was_ finite, after all – get in, get as much information as possible, and get back out before anyone figures out what you're really doing.

He would be no more a permanent fixture in her life than that morning's sunrise.

As her shoulders began to hitch with silent tears, though, Kaji realized that it probably would have been better to lie.

( 0 0 0 )

Kyoko drew a deep, uneven breath as the bulkhead slammed into place. "Lord I hate that man," she whispered, slowly loosening her hold on Rei. "Are you alright, Miss Ayanami?"

Straightening her neck, Rei replied, "I am… sore, but there is no permanent damage."

"I'm sorry I put you through that," Kyoko murmured, releasing the girl entirely, but keeping her hands on Rei's shoulders, "were you scared that I might really kill you?"

"No," Rei said softly, "I was not…"

"Why not?" Kyoko asked, gently rubbing the girl's throat, "Don't I seem desperate enough?"

Rei nodded. "Yes," she admitted, "but you are also kind, I have seen that… and besides – you are left handed. Had you truly wished to break my neck, you would have placed your dominant hand on the side of my head to ensure that you had enough leverage and power to crack the vertebrae as fast as possible, should the Commander send his enforcers after you."

Dubiously, Kyoko asked, "And you noticed all of this while I had you in a chokehold?"

"No," Rei replied, "I noticed your left-handedness in the bar. Your kindness is something I simply picked up on."

"Mm," Kyoko hummed, taking a careful step back from the First Child, "You shouldn't go on your instincts, Miss Ayanami. As I said before, you're not that great a judge of character."

Rei's voice was soft as she said, "Yes I am."

Barking a desperate laugh, Kyoko scrubbed a hand through her cherry-blonde hair. "Yeah," she said hoarsely, wiping quickly at her eyes as Rei turned to face her, "yeah you are… you're a good girl, Rei – I'm sorry I had to do this to you."

"I am unharmed," Rei said simply.

"You… you understand why, right…?"

Turning her eyes to Unit 01, Rei said, "Yes, I do. You will pilot to protect your daughter, and to save this installation… you will be able to because Unit 01 will recognize that you are trying to protect Shinji."

"Brilliant," Kyoko said unevenly, taking a shuddering breath to get herself under control. "Absolutely brilliant, Miss Ayanami. You truly are a wonderful child."

Rei averted her eyes. "I am not remarkable."

The two women regarded the purple visage of Unit 01 for a long moment, saying nothing as they considered what was to come. In spite of her repeated statements that the machine would work for her, Kyoko was unsure… because Gendou was right – none of the adult test subjects had survived the synchronization experiments. After the ones who had been absorbed (herself, Yui, and the donor for Unit 00) any adult synching with an Evangelion experienced excruciating pain, neurological breakdown, and ultimately, death.

Kyoko just prayed that there were enough factors in her favor to allow her to go where others had failed.

"Help me?"

"Of course."

"…thank you."

Silently, Rei slipped her neural connectors off, handing them to Kyoko and watching as the woman positioned them high on the back of her head… just like her daughter.

Adjusting the band to hold the connectors in place, Kyoko whispered, "I know what you're thinking."

"Do you?" Rei asked neutrally.

"You were thinking I should have talked to her when I had the chance – that I should have set my affairs with my daughter in order before heading off to fight a battle I cannot possibly hope to win, right? You were thinking that even if I can start Unit 01, I'm still horribly outclassed and no matter what I do… I'm bound to fail."

Rei glanced at the clock on the far wall. "Actually," she said coolly, "I was thinking that with your hair pulled back, the resemblance between you and pilot Souryu is remarkably striking. I told you before that I am not emp-"

She was cut off as Kyoko reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I don't need that much honesty," she said quickly, "just let me think that you have my best interests in mind."

Closing her eyes, Rei allowed herself to be held, walling off her emotions as best she could and trying not to feel affection for the first person to deliberately embrace her and show her more than a few seconds worth of attention without seeking something in return.

…she was almost successful.

"You should… go…"

Hugging the girl tighter, Kyoko whispered, "I know… I know, but I have to ask you one last thing." Swallowing the lump in her throat, the older woman barely managed to whisper, "Please treat my daughter kindly, ok? She deserves it…"

Rei nodded as the woman finally tore herself away, racing to Unit 01's entry plug and climbing in without another word. Walking to the control console, Rei keyed in the sequence to load the plug, watching as Unit 01 accepted its cargo without complaint and unconsciously crossing her fingers as she whispered, "Best of luck, Misses Souryu."

( 0 0 0 )

"You gonna give me any grief?"

Kyoko bit her lip as she glanced around the dark interior of Unit 01's entry plug, waiting nervously for the tube to be inserted into the giant mecha.

"I'm not doing this because I want to – believe me," she muttered, swallowing with some difficulty as the plug began to spin clockwise, screwing into Unit 01 with a resonating thunk. "It's for you, you know – I'm doing this for your son! Ok, that wasn't why this all got started, but that's neither here nor there, what matters is that if you don't work for me, Shinji will be lost forever, so you should just… just work for me…"

She flinched as the walls of the entry plug began to flash.

"Please, Yui… for both of our children…"

Warmth flooded her body as the third stage connection was made, and as she felt Unit 01's consciousness probing her own, Kyoko squeezed her eyes shut, projecting thoughts of Unit 02 at it with all of her might. She thought of how she had gotten out, how Shinji had been tricked, and what must be done to return him, knowing that if she tried to withhold even one detail, Unit 01 would know.

_I just wanted some time,_ she thought, gritting her teeth as Unit 01 howled with rage, _you can understand that, Yui, I know you can… please, let me fight… let me save everyone, and I swear I won't ever-_

Abruptly, there was silence.

Cautiously opening one eye, Kyoko found herself staring at the umbilical bridge, finding Rei slowly pulling her hands away from her ears. Keying the external speakers, Kyoko said, "You ok there, Miss Ayanami?"

Rei nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she murmured, "but you must hurry. As you were syncing, I was accessing the tactical system. The angel is within the city's boundaries."

"Right," Kyoko said, grasping the control yokes tightly in her hands. "I won't fail." A ghost of her former smile flickered across her lips. "I'd say goodbye," she mused dryly, "but since you're going to have to help me get back into Unit 02, I won't waste my breath. See you soon, kiddo."

"Yes ma'am."

Looking down at the console, Rei selected the launch route that would put Unit 02 closest to the invading angel, locking the path into the computer and triggering catapult before she could second guess her decision.

Kyoko gasped as Unit 01 was rocketed towards the surface, shaking violently as the linear carriage it was strapped to made several hairpin turns.

_Guh__… this is worse than being drunk!_ she thought, barely holding her lunch down as she finally came to a halt.

She frowned, gazing up at the ceiling as she carefully eased Unit 01 out of the launch tube. "So this is what it's like on the other side, huh?" she mused. "Yui? Can you hear me at all?"

_Even if she could, she couldn't reply,_ she thought reasonably, _the only reason Shinji heard me was because we synchronized so well. I could hear Asuka when I was in Unit 02, but she couldn't hear me. _She felt like crying as she remembered that as soon as she got back, she would need to return. _It was never supposed to go this far,_ she thought, pulling Unit 01 up against a building as she spied the angel halfway across the city, _I just wanted to come out… and see you, my liebchen – that's all. But when you were in my arms, my tongue got all tied up, and I couldn't-_

Shaking her head, Kyoko forced herself to stop thinking.

"No regrets, right Yui?" she whispered. "I remember you telling me that as parents… we could have no regrets. I always admired that about you, even if I couldn't quite match your ideals…"

The angel – an oddly human looking creature with wickedly curved claws and no discernable head – turned in her direction, seemingly sensing her presence as she tried to stick to the shadows.

"Ok," she told herself, "time to face facts – I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

With a sharp cry, she threw Unit 01 to the side just as the angel's eyes flared, shaking violently as the building she was hiding next to exploded like a china plate in a carnival shooting booth.

"Tactical support!" she shouted, keying the communications system to life as she brought Unit 01 upright once more. "I need tactical support!"

Misato, she found to her very great relief, was far more interested in beating the angel than berating her or arguing over correct protocol. "Five blocks south," the woman replied immediately, "weapons tower – I'm sending you a pallet rifle… will you know how to fire it?"

"I… I think so," Kyoko replied, scrambling towards the building as the angel fired off another shot, tearing the street she had just vacated apart. "Damn it! I just lost my cable!"

"Keep it together," Misato snapped coldly, "get to the gun, empty the damn clip – then get to point J-32 for another cable. Christ, woman, you're going to get us all killed!"

_Huh,_ Kyoko thought as she ran, _guess she's not above a little tongue-lashing after all._

After a few seconds of frantic running, Kyoko seized the weapon and spun around. "Take this, you bastard," she cried, feeling rather like an extra in an old World War II movie as she willed Unit 01 to depress the trigger.

"Your sync ratio is garbage," Ritsuko voice hissed over the channel, "get back in here and unlock the cages so we can get Rei into the plug – if you can pilot it, so can she!"

"No time," Kyoko replied sharply, discarding the empty rifle and sprinting towards her replacement power supply as the angel continued advancing, seemingly unaffected by the barrage, "any weak spots on this thing? That stupid gun didn't do a damn thing!"

"I doubt you even hit it," Misato countered, "Ritsuko's right – you're at less than thirty percent sync!"

Sweat was trickling down Kyoko's face. "It doesn't matter," she muttered, "I'm not going to do this for a living – I just need this to end… Shinji's time is almost up. Give me any help you can, and for God's sake, stop telling me how bad I am!"

The communications system went silent for a moment as she reached the tower with her new umbilical cable. Fumbling with the handle, Kyoko barely managed to get it in place, her eyes shooting around desperately for the angel as she thought, _Damn it! Where did it go?_

Cautiously raising her head, Kyoko was nearly decapitated as the angel fired another salvo, barely dropping Unit 01 to the ground as a bolt of energy seared the end of its horn off.

Panting for breath, she barely heard the soft call of, "Mother…"

Kyoko's heart stopped.

"…liebchen?"

"There are two cores, ma'am," Asuka's quiet, somber voice came over the tactical net. "Since the MAGI have had so much time to analyze this angel, they have determined that there is a ninety-eight percent chance that both cores must be hit simultaneously to destroy it."

Taking a deep breath, Kyoko began, "Liebchen, I-"

"Destroy the target, ma'am," Asuka interrupted softly, "then return to the cages and await security. These are your orders… do you understand?"

There was a long, painful silence before Kyoko could force her lips around the word, "Yes."

"At point R-14 you will find another tower, with two pallet rifles," Asuka said dispassionately, "take them… use Unit 01's targeting computer to ensure that you are aiming for the correct locations… and neutralize both cores."

Tears ran unheeded down Kyoko's cheeks… but her voice was level as she gently replied, "Unit 01… moving out…"

( 0 0 0 )

The remainder of the battle was anticlimactic. Unit 01 reached the weapons tower without incident, retrieving both rifles and hiding behind a reinforced barrier until the angel grew tired of trying to batter it down. As the weapons were tied to Unit 01's targeting system, which was in turn linked to the MAGI, it was only a matter of range… and since Kyoko waited until the angel was pointblank, there was no margin for error, though she did come very close to dying anyway as the angel shredded the barrier rather than trying to come around it as Kyoko anticipated.

When Unit 01 returned to Headquarters, it was guided back into the cages without incident… but in spite of the Commanders order that Kyoko be detained, Unit 01 was found to be empty when the cages were finally unsealed, and Unit 02's communication system had been shut down.

Reports from the MAGI indicated unusual electrical activity from the plug.

During debriefing, Rei repeatedly insisted that she had no idea what had occurred, maintaining that she had been rendered unconscious, though she showed no signs of cranial trauma, and seemed perfectly alert when the security detail finally managed to cut through the bulkhead.

When the activity in Unit 02's plug ceased, and the hatch was opened, Shinji Ikari was found inside, unconscious, but apparently unharmed.

Kyoko's clothes were floating next to him in the LCL.

( 0 0 0 )

Shinji lay on his bed, his SDAT player rested on his stomach as he contemplated all that had happened. He barely stirred as the front door of the apartment slammed closed, glancing at his clock with a yawn as he pressed Play, the relaxing strains of Stravinsky filling his ears as one or the other of his roommates banged around the kitchen.

It had been a hell of a week.

Test after test… interview after interview… sync after sync – it had seemed like an endless progression of one thing after another until finally, he was deemed fit and sound and suitable to pilot.

Not that the loss would have been something to cry about, in his opinion.

_Asuka_ he thought tiredly, _at least I managed to keep that aspect of things a secret…_

No one knew about the synchronization between him and her – not the truth, anyway. He maintained, through one interview after the next, that he could not recall the details of his stint in Unit 02, and Asuka must have done the same, as no one ever pressed him for more details.

Of course, this was only an assumption, as the redhead had not actually spoken to him since he had gotten out.

Shinji could not blame her, really. After all – what do you say to someone that has seen into your soul? He knew that he, himself, had nothing to say to Asuka, so why should she have anything to say to him?

It was amazing, he thought, that there were so many books and stories about people finding their soul mates and getting close enough to 'see' what the other felt… when all he wanted to do was hide – especially from Asuka. He had never asked to know that much about her, or to have her know that much about him, and when they were alone, talking just seemed so pointless.

Misato thought it was just a side effect of the stress.

Shinji let her.

_We'll get past it in our own way,_ Shinji thought, lifting his SDAT up as it clicked from track 25 to track 26, _we just need-_

"Hello, Shinji,"

Shinji nearly screamed as a soft, unfamiliar voice spoke in his ear.

"We've never formally met," the voice said, "but since I had no problem taking your molecular structure, I didn't think you'd really mind me borrowing your SDAT for a quick message." Shinji sat bolt upright in his bed, his mouth gaping open as the voice continued. "There's so little time… so little time now, to say what I want to say to my daughter. Sad, isn't it? I only wanted your body for a little while – just to see her, and talk to her… but I couldn't manage to do it. There was never time… there was never the opportunity… there was always something else. Excuses, excuses. Cowardice wrapped in rhetoric and tucked inside false bravado. Me, in a nutshell."

"I'm sure, since you're listening to this, that you're safe and sound and back in possession of your own body. I never wanted to hurt you, Shinji, I hope you can believe that, I just wanted to see my little girl one last time. Do you think you could give her a message for me? I know it's a little late, and I know I should have said it myself when I had the chance… but I was always better at running away than facing my problems. Anyway, my time is almost up, so here's my message. It's a little on the corny side, and it's actually from an old, old song… but it fits what I need to say perfectly."

Shinji closed his eyes, his throat constricting as Kyoko Souryu left her final message for the daughter she could never quite touch.

"If I've built this fortress around your heart…encircled you in trenches and barbed wire… then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm…and let me set the battlements on fire. Goodbye, mein liebchen. Mama loves you…"

There was a soft click… and the tape went silent.

Slowly, Shinji sank back onto the bed, setting the SDAT carefully on his desk and returning his gaze to the ceiling. What would he have paid, or given, for a message like that from his father? It was stupid to feel jealous, he knew, but that did not stop the emotion from welling up inside of him.

Glancing at his clock, he whispered, "It's almost time anyway…"

A moment later, the door to his room banged open and Asuka strode in, absently slamming the door behind her. Without a word, she crossed the room, gesturing for Shinji to move over to make space before throwing the covers back and slipping into bed with him. She gave him a cold, almost accusatory stare, but said nothing, slowly lowering her head down onto his shoulder and closing her eyes… exactly as she had every day since his return to the apartment.

Misato had told him, when he was recovered, that she had decided to allow Asuka to live with them, as she felt it would be unfair to have the girl live elsewhere – especially in light of all that had happened to her.

Shinji just wondered if she would ever be sleeping in her own room.

_I guess I shouldn't be complaining, _he mused as she reached down and pulled the covers up over her shoulders. _I'm sharing my bed with a sexy foreigner – what's not to like about that, right?_

Never mind that he knew her most intimate secrets, and that she knew his – no, that should not matter, he thought wryly. Never mind that neither of them had found a way to actually _speak_ to the other – if he just focused on the physical reality that there was a girl sleeping with him, that would make everything ok.

He glanced at her face, unconsciously slipping his arm under her and putting his hand lightly on the small of her back to keep her from falling out of bed. It was an incredibly intimate gesture – the kind usually reserved for those deeply in love – but Shinji thought nothing of it.

Why should he? He had transcended mortal bounds and touched her soul… what excitement could there ever be in plain, physical contact?

His eyes moved from Asuka's relaxed face up to where his SDAT lay on the edge of his desk. Carefully, doing his best not to disturb her, Shinji reached up with his free hand and picked up the tape player, quietly pushing Eject and pulling the tape out. Slowly, he brought his hand over to the gap between his bed and the wall… and slipped the tape into it, closing his eyes as it fell to the floor with a soft clatter.

Asuka lifted her head, looking blearily to him for an explanation, but Shinji simply reached over her and turned the lamp off, closing his eyes as the room was plunged into darkness and waiting patiently for her the settle back in at his side.

Someday, he promised himself, he would play it for her – someday when her agony and confusion were not etched on her face… someday when he did not unconsciously echo her movements with his own… someday when the memories of her pain were not as fresh as his own…

…someday when they could actually talk to each other.

_How ironic_, he thought as he began to drift off, _I finally found someone that understands me… and I can't even let her know how I feel._

Kyoko had it wrong, he decided as he finally crossed the line between wakefulness and dreaming – the fortress around Asuka's heart did not need to be bridged or burned… it simply needed to be replaced by something, or rather, someone, a little more adaptable.

It was a position he felt no one else in the world was qualified to fill.

The End

Author's notes: I really wanted to have an upbeat ending for this story – something showing that Shinji and Asuka were bound to one another, didn't like it, but had the potential to overcome it and be closer than anyone else on Earth… a bit like the end of EoE, now that I think about it, but I don't know how well I conveyed that. Also, by the time I hit the scene with Asuka taking command of the battle, the chapter was pushing 15 pages, and I really wanted it wrapped up – so if that scene seems a little rushed, it's only because it was.

Hey, the story ended up being almost 75 pages! I think I get a little slack over one unnecessary scene, right? _RIGHT?_

I've had some ideas for a sequel, but I don't think I'll be pursuing them, first because this was always meant to be a Kyoko-centric fic, and she's gone, and second – because I don't want to have to rewrite the entire series…

…again.

For this last chapter, I decided to bring in a pre-reader to ensure that the ending didn't (as they used to say in my old neighborhood) SUCK. So big time thanks are going out to Midnight6 for catching some mistakes and keeping the story on track.

Feedback is always welcome on any page with reviewing capabilities or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.

Thanks for reading.


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